And just like that, Christmas has happened again! I hope you all had a wonderful celebration and ate as much as I did! Copious amounts of wine, too. But alas, the party season is not over, and with New Years Eve coming up, I’ve got a great little fizzy cocktail number for you. And because everybody’s wallets are hurting by this point in the festive season, you’ll be pleased to hear that there is no champagne involved. Just some good old cider and brandy that I’m sure you have lying around!

This drink is a nice change from everything heavy, sickly sweet or overly boozy that you’ve been indulging in over the last week. Lemon juice balances it out, and it is naturally sweetened with maple syrup so you can feel a tiny bit less guilty. If you haven’t got any apple jack, regular brandy will work a treat too. And I can almost guarantee that at this time of year, there’s always a bottle of brandy lurking in the cupboard!

Apologies for the utter radio silence of late. I have been busy cooking, entertaining, house decorating and obviously, being ill. You gotta love these three week viruses that seem to hover around this time of year. Finally, today I have some time to give the blog a bit of TLC. Our guests are unable to come due to the inclement weather so I’m tucked up in bed surrounded by tissues as I write to you. Nothing like a cozy day in bed wearing my new onesie to make me feel better.

I recently gave in to the hype and started watching Stranger Things on Netflix. SO. GOOD. I will definitely be binge-watching the rest of season 2 today. Is there going to be more??!?! I hope so! What shows are you looking forward to new seasons of in 2018? Personally, I can’t wait for Westworld. I am such a sucker for Netflix. Who even needs a TV when you have your bed and your laptop?!

Anyway, enough medicine-induced ramblings from me. I promise that this is the last festive cocktail of the season. I cannot promise that 2018 will be full of juice cleanse recipes and vegan smoothie bowls. I can promise that it will be full of deliciousness, indulgence and love! Happy New Year!

Recipe

• Serves: 1
• Time:
  • Prep: 5

    Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz apple jack (apple brandy)
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz maple syrup
• sparkling hard apple cider to top up
• handful cranberries
• 2-3 apple slices
• 1 tsp cinnamon sugar (equal parts cinnamon and white sugar, combined)

Instructions

1. Begin by running a lemon wedge around the outside of the glass and dipping it in the cinnamon sugar to coat the rim.
2. Shake the maple syrup, apple jack and lemon juice over ice, then strain into the prepared glass. Add ice as desired and top up with the hard apple cider.
3. Decorate with a few cranberries and apple slices. Enjoy!

Notes

This can easily be scaled up to make a big batch. The ratios are as follows:

2 parts apple jack

1 part lemon juice

1 part maple syrup

Just be sure to mix them well as the maple syrup is viscous so it will sink to the bottom unless you give it a good shake!