Bourbon Ginger Cider Cocktails

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Easy & cozy Bourbon Ginger Cider Cocktails perfect for autumn! The bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. You will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long!
easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

…also known as the pwwb house signature autumn cocktail.

& um…ALSO known as the classiest & most seasonally-relevant way to get rid of a shit-ton of bourbon in your liquor cabinet this fall.

sooooooo…it goes without saying, this cocktail has quite an amusing back story. 

chris’ best friends are a group of, like, 12 guys he lived with in college. & don’t tell them i told you, but they’re pretty much the best guys ever. they’re smart, funny, avoid drama, & know how to have tons of fun. they don’t see as much of each other these days as they used to in madison (the kind of thing that happens when the group is spread from atlanta to wyoming), but when they do see each other they don’t mess around.

so…last spring all of the guys came to minneapolis for a bachelor party weekend. & in a pretty predictable fashion, they each stopped at the liquor store on the way to the air b&b from the airport to grab a handle of booze for the weekend.

(…told you they don’t mess around…)

come sunday, more than half of the liquor went untouched because they spent most of the weekend barhopping anyway. & since no one could could carry their handle of booze onto their flight home, it was donated to our house & somehow, chris came home with (i kid you not) like 3 handles of bourbon.

they were immediately stored in the garage of our old apartment, long-forgotten…until we were packing to move into our new house last october & we rediscovered that we literally had 3 full, unopened handles of bourbon.

& since chris is really a scotch & beer kind of guy, & since i’m typically a “i don’t usually drink brown liquor” kind of gal, 3 handles of bourbon is a literal shit-ton of bourbon in our house (or garage).

so!

what’s a gal to do?

hint: she makes the damn best cozy fall bourbon ginger cider cocktails.

eeeeeeek! you GUYS these bourbon ginger cider cocktails are INSANE.

they’re so, so simple, but SO FREAKIN’ amazing. you will absolutely love them. 

easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

& trust me…if i love them (ahem, see above, i’m usually totally a “i don’t usually drink brown liquor” kind of gal), you’re really going to love them. 

easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

the thing is, these bourbon ginger cocktails are incredibly well balanced. the booziness from the bourbon is definitely there, but they’re not so spirit-forward that they’re difficult to drink. the apple cider adds nice sweetness (but not too much! that’s why it’s important to use a cider vs juice), which is contrasted by the zing & tang from the ginger beer & lime juice. a sprinkle of cinnamon adds the final, perfect, warming touch of spice that makes these bourbon ginger cider cocktails the kind of drink you want to make over & over again. 

bourbon ginger cider cocktails make the perfect signature cocktail for autumn because…
easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

  • bourbon ginger cider cocktails have an easy-to-remember recipe. if you ask me, signature cocktails need to have easy-to-remember recipes or ratios because it makes them effortless to pull together. you don’t have to pull out your phone to track down *that one* recipe you liked *that one* time. bourbon ginger cider cocktails totally fit the easy-to-remember bill: two parts apple cider + one part bourbon + one part ginger beer + 1/2 part lime juice. THAT’S IT(!!!).  2 + 1 + 1 + 1/2. 
  • these bourbon ginger cider cocktails are SO well-balanced. signature cocktails also need to be balanced enough to want to drink them over & over again (…sometimes in the same night!). it’s hard to crave drinks that are overly sweet, & drinks that are too spirit-forward (in my experience) don’t make the best drinks to serve to when you host parties. bourbon ginger cider cocktails have the right balance of booze, sweetness (from the cider!), & zing (hello, ginger beer & lime juice!). for this reason, it’s important to use a real apple cider & not apple juice – otherwise your cocktails will drink way too sweet. similarly, use a ginger beer that has good punch to it, & not just ginger ale – again, otherwise your cocktails will be SO sweet.
  • & along those lines, bourbon ginger cider cocktails are easy to make en masse. while the recipe card below is written to make cocktails 2 at a time (that’s how we make them at home probably 75% of the time), these bourbon ginger cider cocktails translate really well to a pitcher cocktail for entertaining. remember the ratio from above?? (hint: 2 + 1 + 1 + 1/2!!) swap out “ounces” for “cups” (i.e. 2 cups of cider, 1 cup of bourbon, etc…) & you’ll have yourself enough to pour for a crowd. or, just eyeball it! 

don’t you think that every house needs a signature cocktail?
easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

(yes, the answer is yes!)

we adore these cozy, boozy cocktails this time of year & you totally will too.

cheers to autumn, friends!  

if you like the sound of these bourbon ginger cider cocktails, here are a few other easy recipes to check out!

tell me! what’s your signature fall cocktail? what kinds of liquors & flavors do you love this time of year? who in your life would love these bourbon ginger cider cocktails this fall? let me know in the comments below…i’d LOVE to chat!!! xo

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easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

bourbon ginger cider cocktails

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Description

easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 ounces bourbon
  • 6 ounces apple cider
  • 3 ounces ginger beer
  • 1 1/2 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • for garnish (optional): thinly sliced apple, an extra sprinkle of ground cinnamon, whole cinnamon sticks

Instructions

  1. Combine the bourbon, apple cider, ginger beer, lime juice, and ground cinnamon in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds, until combined & the ground cinnamon is evenly mixed throughout the cocktail. Evenly divide into 2 rocks glasses with ice. Garnish with apple slices, cinnamon sticks, and an extra sprinkle of ground cinnamon as desired. Enjoy!


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2

pin these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for later!
easy & cozy bourbon ginger cider cocktails perfect for autumn! the bold flavor of a nice bourbon is perfectly balanced out by warming notes of a good apple cider & ground cinnamon, the spice of a strong ginger beer, & the bright tang of fresh lime. you will love making these bourbon ginger cider cocktails for your friends & family all autumn long! #playswellwithbutter #easycocktailrecipe #bourbon #autumncocktail #fallcocktail

Hi there, I'm Jess!

If there’s 1 thing to know about me, it’s this: I am head-over-heels in love with food. I’m on a mission to make weeknight cooking flavorful, fast, & fun for other foodies, & PWWB is where I share foolproof recipes that deliver major flavor with minimal effort. Other true loves: pretty shoes, puppies, Grey’s Anatomy, & my cozy kitchen in Minneapolis, MN.

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Comments

  1. 10.1.17
    MAry Alice said:

    Excited to try these?

    • 10.5.17
      jess said:

      i hope you LOVE them! xoxo

    • 12.27.23
      Bruce said:

      So you want me to “vigorously shake” a cocktail that contains carbonated ginger beer???

  2. 9.28.17

    um yes please! this looks like the ultimate cozy fall recipe! I’m loving all these ingredients right now, can’t wait to jump back in the kitchen this weekend and smash out some fally recipes!

    • 10.5.17
      jess said:

      fall is my FAVE food season! i can’t wait to see the goodness to come out of your kitchen, g!

  3. 9.28.17

    We are throwing a fall party in a couple weeks…. TOTALLY making a giant batch of these as party punch!!!

    • 10.5.17
      jess said:

      ooooooh you’re gonna LOVE them!!! be sure to send me a pic & let me know how it goes, i’d LOVE to see!!!!! xo