Apple Bourbon Smash with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon Sugar Rim
This apple bourbon smash is crisp, refreshing, and naturally sweet. With freshly muddled apple and lemon, bourbon, maple syrup, and a cinnamon sugar rim. It's the perfect bourbon cocktail for cooler days. It's easy to mix up, and it's ready in under 10 minutes!
On chilly days, this apple bourbon smash is the drink I reach for first. It's cozy, simple to make, and full of seasonal flavor without feeling heavy or overdone. It's the kind of cocktail that fits just as easily into a quiet night at home as it does a casual get-together with friends.
I sweeten this one with maple syrup instead of sugar or simple syrup, which adds a deeper, warmer note that pairs beautifully with bourbon. Fresh apple and lemon juice are muddled into the glass, giving the drink a bright, juicy base, and a cinnamon-sugar rim adds just the right touch of spice for cooler weather.
A smash is all about highlighting what's in season, and this version couldn't be more flexible or forgiving. Everything gets muddled, shaken with ice until cold, then strained into a rocks glass. It's fresh, festive, and easy to love-one of those fall cocktails I come back to year after year.
Apple Bourbon Smash with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon Sugar Rim
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the cinnamon sugar ingredients in a small, wide dish.1 tablespoon granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Run a cut lemon around the rim of a glass, then dip the wet rim into the cinnamon sugar. Then fill the glass with ice.
- Put the chopped apple and lemon slice in a cocktail shaker and muddle well.½ medium apple, ½ lemon
- Fill the shaker with ice, then add the bourbon and maple syrup and shake until it's cold. Strain into the glass and garnish with apple slices and a cinnamon stick.2 ounces bourbon, 1 ounce maple syrup
