This cocktail borrows its flavor and style from a buck, a cocktail that centers around ginger and citrus. Even though this is not technically a buck, the flavor profile and texture mirror its characteristics. I encourage you to make a batch of homemade ginger syrup. You’ll use it up in all of the holiday-inspired cocktails this season. If anything, it’s excellent drizzled over an apple crisp or pear tart. I never have trouble using it up, and it’s always in rotation in my fridge.

I chose one of my favorite amari, Amaro Montenegro, as the base for this cocktail. It’s one of the more “drinkable” amari, not quite so bitter, but still complex and interesting. It’s filled with notes of dried orange peel, bitter roots, coriander, and cloves. In fact, over 40 different botanicals are used to make the final amaro, which is slightly sweet, citrusy bright, and bitter on the finish.

If you can’t find Amaro Montenegro, which is generally easy to spot, you can swap Amaro Nonino or Averna, instead. They’ll both substitute perfectly here.

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apple cider buck spritz

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• 1 ounce Amaro Montenegro
• 1/4 ounce ginger syrup {recipe below}
• 4-6 ounces hard apple cider, to finish {I used Big B’s Orchard Original}

1. Fill a flute or wine glass with ice.
2. Add the Amaro Montenegro and ginger syrup.
3. Pour hard apple cider to the glass and fill to the top.
4. Garnish with dried apple slices and pomegranate arils.

• This can easily be turned into a batch-able punch. The punch dilutes less, if you chill your ingredients before serving. Chill the amaro, ginger syrup, and cider in the fridge the night before. Simply multiply the ingredient amounts by the number of desired servings, and you’re set. Garnish your punch bowl with an ice mold, studded with sliced apples, pomegranate arils, star anise pods, cinnamon sticks, or dried orange wheels. Here’s a photo of a fall-themed version I made recently.

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spicy ginger syrup

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• 1 orange, juiced
• 1 grapefruit, juiced
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1/2 cup unpeeled, coarsely chopped ginger root

1. In a saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring along the way, and reduce to a slow, low simmer.
2. Simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and let steep until completely cool.
4. Strain out the solids through a chinois or through cheesecloth and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

• Give your syrup a seasonal twist and add cinnamon, cardamom pods, star anise, or black peppercorns to the ingredient list.

I’ll keep my words few, since this particular post is so photo-heavy. Besides, sometimes the photos tell it even better than I can. I took the following photos throughout the last weeks of harvest. We grew five different grape varieties {Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and a carboy’s worth of Pinot Noir}, picked over 15 tons of grapes, had well over 30 volunteers and workers assist us with the process, prepped countless meals, popped a few bottles along the way, and made wonderful memories.

A special thanks to my friend, Haley of Brewing Happiness, for capturing me in my element in the very last photo.

I’m especially grateful for how our first season turned out. Despite several frost events, which left a lot of farmers in the valley with either no fruit or a decreased yield, we ended up harvesting just what we originally and conservatively predicted. We negotiated purchases from winemakers here on the western slope and in Denver. We worked almost every day this summer. I can’t say we did it all fearlessly or tirelessly, but we did our work tenaciously.

We learned so much about farming, listening to the weather, respecting the vines, pruning back just the right amount of foliage, navigating our beast-like wind machines, running a tractor and its implements, and operating a business. Sometimes, I want to revert back to my original goal of becoming the very best stay-at-home cat mom ever, but most days, I’m satisfied and encouraged by our bravery {craziness?}.

Thank you to all of our friends and family, who either flew out or drove multiple hours to say hello or help us harvest over the weeks in September and October. The Storm Cellar is quickly becoming so much more than a dream in my mind. It’s becoming the people who’ve worked the land, the friends who’ve helped us, the meals we’ve crafted together, and, eventually, the wines we’ll bottle this spring.

And the biggest of thanks and love to the best partner, friend, and life companion I could ever ask for, Steve Steese. Love you so, so much!

Okay!

The sappy thanks-fest is over, and I’m off to finish building a retaining wall here at the house, wrapping up a lawn-seeding project, and finally getting after our Thanksgiving meal-planning. Here’s to getting it all done without losing my mind in the process. And let me know if you make one of these cider cocktails!

XO,

Jayme

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