Spiced apple cider with rum - a fall favorite

2020 is officially in it's last quarter. With lock down and travel ban the year still managed to go by in a blink of an eye. As the first week of October comes around, I couldn't believe how crisp the air feels and how much color is in the neighborhood. Something about the fall that makes me crave more spice, richer flavors, and warm bevvy in my hand. Apple cider was calling my name during this week's stroll to the local grocer. Why not, this evening we're having some spiced apple cider, adult version.

If you do a google search, there's a lot of versions out there. Depends on the origin and the chef's preference, there's many ways to make this drink just the way you like it. Some of the common spices used include: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, all spice, star anise, orange, lemon, nutmeg, and ginger. Use whatever flavors that make you happy (or able to find in your cupboard). I'm happy to share my version here. This drink made my taste buds and belly very happy on this cool Saturday night.

What you need:

- 3 cups of fresh apple cider (some say apple juice will work too)

- 1 cup of water (my cider is pretty sweet - a whopping 41g of sugar per serving, so I diluted the taste a bit)

- 4 full caps (about 1/4 of cup) of Bacardi superior white rum (40% alcohol), you can use other rum or other alcohols. Commonly Brandy, Bourbon, or whisky are all nice substitutes. 

- 1 whole star anise

- 3-4 cloves

- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (I didn't have cinnamon sticks but the ground stuff is a-ok)

- 4 thinly sliced ginger slices

- slices of lemon

Recipe:

- Put all the spices, and ginger in a pot, pour in apple cider and water and bring the liquids to a boil. Let the liquid simmer for about 10 min on low so the spices are infused in the cider. 

- Pour in the rum and let it simmer for an additional 5-8 min. Do not over boil as you don't want to  evaporate all the alcohol. Our goal is to infuse the spices a bit further. Give it a try and see if you need to add an addition min or 2.

- Put a slice of lemon in the mug, pour the mulled adult cider over the lemon. Your cider will draw the lemony flavor out as it runs through it, and the lemon will float to the top.

-  Serve hot, with some biscuits or cookies after dinner. Have it while you read your favorite book on the couch.

There you have it. It was simple enough, and versatile enough. A bit spicy, a bit sweet, boozy but not over powering - this was a perfect finish to my evening. In fact it was so good I made a second batch. It definitely made the transition to fall a bit easier this season. Make it yourself, I bet you will like it too.