Homemade Sour Apple Liqueur- Appletini

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Elevated Appletini

Apple Martinis aka Appletinis were one of the most ubiquitous cocktails in the early 2000s. I must admit, in my early drinking days I imbibed more than my fair share of neon green appletinis. I mean, what’s not to love? They’re sweet, they’re tart, you can barely taste the alcohol- wait… is that a good thing?

As in most cocktails- I don’t really like using vodka when there are so many other interesting spirits that could bring more complexity to a cocktail. I have been thinking about this upgraded appletini for awhile now- testing out different spirits and blends of spirits to come up with a really compelling cocktail- maybe even 21 year old me would enjoy.

Nix the vodka- obviously. Swap in some aquavit, and a homemade bright green sour apple liqueur with fresh lemon juice. Perfection.

You’ll need the following equipment:

High Powered Blender or a juicer
Knife
Cutting board
Immersion blender- or whisk
Nut Milk Bag
Shaker Tins, Jigger, Strainer
Conical Strainer

Ingredients:

Granny Smith Apples
Citric Acid
Malic Acid
Pectinex
Sugar
Water
Chlorophyll (Chlorophyllin)
Aquavit
Pisco
Lemon

Now of course I am not using a store bought neon green apple liqueur- those are loaded with sugar, dyes and low quality alcohol. I will be crafting my apple liqueur from fresh Granny Smith apples, sugar, a blend of acids and chlorophyll - to give it that bright green color.

Because I am not using a juicer here, I am going to slice these apples into quarters and remove the seeds. You can also peel them if you like, but I am hoping the skins will add a bit of color as well as giving this liqueur a more authentic apple flavor. To my blender I am also adding 1/3 cup of water and 1/4 tsp of ascorbic acid- aka vitamin c- without this your apples will oxidize and turn brown very quickly. You can sub citric acid or lemon juice if you like. I’ll blend this on high for about 30 seconds to a minute and then strain through a nut milk bag over a bowl.

Once the juice has been strained, I will transfer my apple juice to a pitcher The yield is about 300ml. Next I will add 5 drops of pectinex, this will help to give us a clear liqueur by breaking down the pectin that’s left in the juice. After the juice has been cleared, I will filter the juice through 2 stacked (rinsed) coffee filters. I will then add 1/3- 1/2 cup of sugar and blend with an immersion blender until dissolved- you can also just stir it until the sugar dissolves, but I am too impatient. Then I will add 1/8th tsp of citric acid and 1/8th tsp of malic acid. Now I need to fortify the liqueur and make it that bright green color. I am using pisco instead of vodka because I love how it makes fruity flavors pop! I’m measuring out 20ml of Pisco and adding 2- 3 drops of chlorophyll.

The order is important here! Adding the chlorophyll to the acidulated juice will cause the chlorophyll to clump up!

Now that the apple liqueur is made, we can go ahead and make the cocktail!

Alongside my new sour apple liqueur, I am using my homemade aquavit for this cocktail as well some simple syrup and lemon juice

To my mixing tin I am adding 1.5 oz of apple liqueur, 1 oz aquavit, .5 oz lemon juice and .5 oz simple syrup

Shake it all together and pour into a coup or martini glass and garnish with a homemade brandied cherry, or forego a garnish!

Green, fresh, tart, crisp- everything I want in an apple flavored cocktail. I definitely think my younger self would appreciate this appletini!

Ingredients:

Granny Smith Apples
Citric Acid
Malic Acid
Pectinex (optional)
Sugar
Water
Chlorophyll
Aquavit
Pisco
Lemon
Simple Syrup

Method:

Quarter apples. Add to blender with ascorbic acid, water and blend for 30-45 seconds. Strain through fine mesh sieve.
(Optional) Add pectinex to the strained apple juice and siphon off or strain juice.
Add sugar and blend with immersion blender until dissolved.
Add acids, pisco and chlorophyll- keep refrigerated- should last for 7-10 days in the refrigerator.
Combine 1.5 oz apple liqueur, .5 oz aquavit, .25 oz Calvados, 1 oz Lemon Juice, .5 oz pisco in a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice for 10 seconds- double strain into a martini glass and garnish with a brandied cherry