Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon
This Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon cocktail is a fall drink that's made up of whiskey, cinnamon, sparkling apple cider and garnished with a cinnamon stick. This delicious cocktail will compliment Thanksgiving dinner!
If you're looking for more sparkling apple cider recipes, check out some of my other favorites like Sparkling Apple Cider Donuts, Holiday Punch With Vodka, or Sparkling Apple Cider Mimosas.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon
- Ready In: 5 minutes
- Makes: 1 serving
- Main Ingredients: sparkling apple cider, bourbon, cinnamon
- Flavor Profile: bubbly, cinnamon-kissed
- Dietary Info: gluten free, eggless, no seed oils, vegan
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: easy fall cocktail
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fall Cocktail: This is the perfect cocktail for fall as it tastes of warm spices and fresh apple juice, but elevated.
- Bubbly: This is a bubbly fall cocktail, thanks to the sparkling apple cider. So if you like fizzy drinks, you'll love this!
- So Easy: This Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon is so easy to make, yet it has bold flavor.
Martinelli's makes an organic sparkling apple cider that is so good! Geez, I could drink that whole bottle! So, I decided to make a simple organic cocktail with this amazing holiday beverage!
This Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon starts out with organic whiskey, a pinch of cinnamon, sparkling apple cider, and cinnamon stick for garnish. This organic cocktail recipe is the perfect drink to compliment a slice of pie like Brown Butter Apple Pie Without Eggs, Sourdough Apple Pie, or Vanilla Bean Apple Pie.
This organic cocktail is one you'll want to make all season long and even into the holidays. This recipe makes one drink, but if you want to make more you could serve it in a pitcher as well.
Ingredients
- Whiskey: I use organic whiskey.
- Sparkling Apple Cider: I use Martinelli's Organic Sparkling Apple Cider. But, fresh apple cider also works too if you make your own or even if you want to use a regular cider that's flat.
- Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon, which is my favorite variety, it has a specific flavor which is different than Celyon cinnamon which can be most commonly found at grocery stores. Check out my article Best Cinnamon To Bake With for more info on different varieties of cinnamon.
- Cinnamon Sticks: I garnish with organic cinnamon sticks, which is optional, but I love the way it looks and it adds a little more flavor.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Tips for Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon
- Build in the glass (don’t shake). Fill a rocks glass with ice → add whiskey + a pinch of ground cinnamon → gently top with sparkling apple cider; stir with the cinnamon stick.
- Keep everything cold. Chill the cider and glass so the bubbles stay lively and you don’t over-dilute with melting ice.
- Choose your cinnamon wisely. Korintje cinnamon reads warm and classic here; it's my top pick. You can use your favorite.
- Use clear, larger ice. One or two big cubes melt slower than a handful of small ones, keeping flavor tight.
- Batch smart for parties. Scale the whiskey and keep the cider separate and chilled; combine just before serving to preserve carbonation.
- Make it yours. Prefer drier, spicier notes? Try a rye instead of bourbon; for softer vanilla-caramel, stick with bourbon!
- Seasonal serve. This cocktail shines alongside pies and fall desserts—lean into the theme for easy hosting.
How to Make Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon
- Open your favorite sparkling apple cider! Add ice to a glass.
- Add whiskey and a pinch of cinnamon on top.
- Fill up with sparkling apple cider.
- Garnish with cinnamon stick.
Serving Ideas
- Enjoy with Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Zucchini Cake Without Eggs or Maple Spice Cake With Brown Sugar Frosting for the perfect fall dessert.
- For a Christmas dessert, try Festive Gingerbread Snack Cake Without Frosting or Eggless Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies.
- Cozy up by fire with a bowl of Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Popcorn, Honey Roasted Cashews or Homemade Crunch Bars and a cocktail for movie night!
Recipe FAQ's
This tastes like a sparkling fall dirty soda. This is bubbly, slightly sweet from the sparkling cider and and oaky from the bourbon.
Bourbon goes so well with apple cider because it has notes of sweet, caramel, and oak bringing out brown sugar like flavors when paired with something sweet like apple cider.
I prefer to use an organic bourbon, Split Rock and Old Standard are ones we buy often.
Yes, you can. But, bourbon is better here because it has vanilla, caramel and sweet notes that pair really well here.
Sparkling apple cider plays best with spirits that add spice, oak, or herbal notes. Bourbon or rye whiskey, dark/aged or spiced rum, dry sparkling wine/Champagne, vodka are all great options.
Yes, if you don't want it bubbly, you can use regular apple cider instead.
I serve with a cinnamon stick. But, you can also do apple slices or orange slices too.
You can, but you'll miss out on the apple cider flavor if you do that. While Prosecco pairs really well with bourbon, to get an apple flavor while using Prosecco, I recommend adding a little splash of flat apple cider so you still get the apple cider flavor.
Yes, replace the bourbon with ginger beer and add a little pinch of allspice (or cloves)! This will give it a warm and cozy vibe without alcohol.
Yes, you can. But I recommend mixing it up right before you plan to serve it so it stays bubbly.
You can, but I don't recommend it because you'll start to loose bubbles if it just sits. It's best to mix this up right before serving.
This goes so well with Pumpkin Spice Sweet Potato Fries, Organic French Baguettes With Instant Yeast and cheese, as well as Chinese Five Spice Garlic French Fries.
More Fall Apple Recipes
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Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces whiskey
- 1 Pinch ground cinnamon
- 4 ounces sparkling apple cider
- 1 cinnamon stick (for garnish)
Instructions
- Add ice to a glass.
- Add whiskey and a pinch of cinnamon on top.
- Fill up with sparkling apple cider and garnish with cinnamon stick.
Video
Notes
- Build in the glass (don’t shake). Fill a rocks glass with ice → add whiskey + a pinch of ground cinnamon → gently top with sparkling apple cider; stir with the cinnamon stick.
- Keep everything cold. Chill the cider and glass so the bubbles stay lively and you don’t over-dilute with melting ice.
- Choose your cinnamon wisely. Korintje cinnamon reads warm and classic here; it's my top pick. You can use your favorite.
- Use clear, larger ice. One or two big cubes melt slower than a handful of small ones, keeping flavor tight.
- Batch smart for parties. Scale the whiskey and keep the cider separate and chilled; combine just before serving to preserve carbonation.
- Make it yours. Prefer drier, spicier notes? Try a rye instead of bourbon; for softer vanilla-caramel, stick with bourbon!
- Seasonal serve. This cocktail shines alongside pies and fall desserts—lean into the theme for easy hosting.
- High Altitude — Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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The ultimate fall cocktail!