This apple cider bourbon punch is so festive and it is a perfect drink to make a big batch of ahead of time and then just add the club soda/sparkling cider when ready to serve for a party or gathering. I will be serving on Thanksgiving and did a little taste test this week to make sure I liked it.
This cocktail uses homemade brown sugar cinnamon syrup and the awesome thing is that you don’t need to use it all for the drink, so you have some leftover to use in your coffee or other cocktails and it is sooo good.
Fresh citrus is best for this, but it is still really good with store bought OJ if you don’t want to squeeze oranges. You are squeezing lemons anyway though so what is a few oranges too? 🙂 I used my orange peels from this drink to make candied orange peel for some cookies.
I’m not a huge club soda fan except for certain cocktails so I would use either lemon sparkling water, or sparkling apple cider instead for this.
Apple Cider Bourbon Punch
Ingredients
For the syrup:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup water
For the punch:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar syrup
- 3 cups bourbon
- 4 cups apple cider
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup fresh OJ
- 4 cups ice
- 2 cups club soda, sparkling water, or sparkling cider
- nutmeg and clove to taste
Instructions
For the syrup:
- Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and boil for 10 minutes until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Cool the syrup and store an extra in the fridge.
For the punch:
- Combine everything except the sparkling water/cider in a large container and store in the fridge or freezer at least 2 hours or longer. When ready to serve, add the ice and sparkling water/cider.