Cocktail & Other Recipes Preparation Style On the Rocks

Apple Business

Written by
Liquor.com
Updated 02/04/21
Apple Business cocktail with three skewered apple slices and a straw
Image:

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Apple cocktails often get a bad rap—largely due to poorly executed Appletinis. But the versatile fruit can be used in a variety of delicious drinks, from warm winter toddies to refreshing summer coolers. The Apple Business, created by Theo Lieberman, a New York-based beverage director and sommelier, is firmly the latter.

Lieberman builds the cocktail on a base of Nolet’s gin. The Holland-made spirit is a significant departure from juniper-dominant London dry gins and instead features a floral, fruit-forward profile that counts rose, peach and raspberry among its botanicals. This keeps the flavors light and fresh, but at a stout 47.6% ABV, the gin packs a punch.

Add lime juice and honey, and the Apple Business skirts into Bee’s Knees territory (gin, lemon, honey), but an ounce of apple juice takes the flavor in a new direction. The key is to use quality juice. Nothing beats a freshly juiced apple if you have the equipment; otherwise, acquire a bottle of locally pressed juice or the best store-bought option you can find. Apples are naturally sweet, and the juice is paired with honey, so you don’t need a juice with a lot of added sugar.

Shake your ingredients together with ice, and you get a refreshing, delicious cocktail that’s perfect for summer or early fall when the days are still warm. Garnish your drink like Lieberman does, with a few apple slices, and you’ll even have a healthy snack to enjoy between sips.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces Nolet’s silver dry gin
  • 1 ounce apple juice
  • 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • 1/2 ounce honey
  • Garnish: 3 apple slices

Steps

  1. Add the gin, apple juice, lime juice and honey into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

  2. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

  3. Garnish with 3 skewered apple slices.