Honeycrisp Old Fashioned.
There is no season I get more excited about than apple season.
Specially, honeycrisp apple season. More specifically, apple cider season. Why must honeycrisp season be so short? I swear in two weeks, they will be GONE.
Must use them in as many ways as possible right this instant. Honeycrisp overload, here we come.
Earlier this week I introduced Max to honeycrisp apples. He had them last year, but I often roasted them or pan-roasted them in some cider with cinnamon for dessert. He LOVED those. But now he is older and decided that whoa! – apples are like balls and he’s just going to throw them (um, no), I had to share my honeycrisp love. So he’d eat them instead of throw them.
It’s kind of working. Kind of.
He absolutely loves them. BUT. He loves tossing them around. Like whyyyy? He now knows how to go into the fridge and find the apple gold in my crisper drawer so I need a new plan. Obviously.
But let’s move on to the more grown up side of things because I just might have made a honeycrisp syrup.
A homemade honeycrisp syrup. !!!!!!
This warrants an asinine amount of exclamation points.
I was hesitant about using a syrup in a old fashioned, but to my surprise, tons of recipes that I looked at used simple syrup. Many used the classic bitters + sugar muddle in the bottom too, which is what I am used to. This made me feel better because, you know, when you’re uneasy about anything in your life, you turn to google to see what the rest of the world says. And boom – you’re cured/dying/normal/a freak.
This may be my signature fall cocktail for 2016. I always lean towards apple cider margaritas or sangria, but this is just so simple, so warming, so delightful. And that honeycrisp syrup is fabulous on ALL THE THINGS.
Seriously. Just make that. Promise?
Honeycrisp Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- honeycrisp syrup
- 2 honeycrisp apples, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup water
- sugar
- honeycrisp old fashioned
- 1 ounce honeycrisp syrup
- 2 to 3 drops bitters
- 2 ounces bourbon
- thinly sliced apple for garnish
- cinnamon sugar, if desired
Instructions
honeycrisp syrup
- Place the apples and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook until the mixture is simmering and the apple is tender and begins to break down. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth and blended. Strain over a fine mesh sieve into a measuring cup.
- The amount of honeycrisp juice you have is how much sugar you need. If you have 1/2 cup, use 1/2 cup sugar. Equal parts. Place both the honeycrisp juice and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is simmering. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
honeycrisp old fashioned
- Place an ice cube(s) in a chilled tumble and add the honeycrisp syrup. Add a few drops of bitters, then add the bourbon. Stir, add the apple slices and serve. If desired, you can rim the glass in cinnamon sugar or sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of the apples.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Such a crush on this.
63 Comments on “Honeycrisp Old Fashioned.”
OH MY GOD!! Dave is obsessed with Old Fashioneds and I am shiiit at making them, so I am totally making this for happy hour tomorrow!! will let you know how it goes :) xo
yes please!! enjoy! :)
This drink makes me sooo happy. Can I just leave work and go home and curl up on my couch with this?? Who cares that it’s currently 8:30 a.m. :)
that sounds like the perfect plan.
the same situation came to my mind before I saw your comment.
But, can I have a cottage house in the middle of nowhere and this drink, please? xx
What a fabulous way to welcome in the new season! Wish we could share one (or three) of these together!
same!! xoxo
This is totally brilliant!!! So here where I live (in Milwaukee, WI) there’s a whole culture around the old fashioned cocktail. My hubby loves them, so I’m totally going to win wife of the year by making these for him :)
oh how cool! i love that.
How about, why must honeycrisp apples cost so.much!? My grocery bill is always so much higher when I hoard these delicious apples!
UGH. seriously. i know. it’s so unfair.
This is like all my favorite parts of fall wrapped into one! Can’t wait for the weekend to come around so I can make these.
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thanks julia!
I pretty much make your apple cider sangria but the gallon every fall, but THIS. This may be my new go to. I love old fashioned and manhattans and I can’t imagine a more perfect fall twist. I’m making this tonight, but I’m in love already.
And these photos are STUNNING. PS: Your next cookbook should totally be a cocktail party book with all the snacks and all the beverages!
thank you so much meg! i love that you love the sangria too.
We definitely always use syrup in our old fashioneds… but lately we’ve been experimenting with tequila old fashioneds and OMG you need to get on it! I’ve got a bottle of tequila with a lot of fresh rosemary in it sitting in the cupboard ‘steeping’ and I made a rosemary simple syrup and together, they are heaven. I’ll let you know when I share in on my blog!
WHAT. I need one of those in my life!
YUM. I love Old Fashioneds (read: I love Bourbon). With honeycrisp syrup? Yes, please!
Kiersten
i hear ya! :)
We have honeycrisp apples for a lot of the year in our grocery stores here in the midwest… They cost more than my mortgage though, so only spluge once in a while. You have made me very thirsty!! Do you deliver… to work???
i know, why are they so ridiculously expensive?!
This looks beyond gorgeous! It’s our anniversary today and my husband loves old fashioneds so since we can’t go out for dinner to celebrate (sick kiddo) I’ll definitely be making this for him! Brilliant timing, you posting this today, thanks!
ah yay! happy anniversary!
Oh man! My favorite apple + my favorite cocktail!! Must make this as soon as possible :)
thanks lisa!
you may have just figured out how to get me to drink bourbon! making these this weekend with hubby, for sure!
thanks jess! xoxo
“you know, when you’re uneasy about anything in your life, you turn to google to see what the rest of the world says. And boom – you’re cured/dying/normal/a freak.”
Love this line, so true! You crack me up.
I LOVE old-fashioneds, can’t wait to try this fall twist on one! (P.S. I have also been loving making all different flavors of simple syrups. So easy!)
Yippee! I’ve recently discovered that I love bourbon. I’m heading to the farmer’s market tomorrow to grab some honey crisps. Thanks for the recipe!!
Oh no… he can’t throw them. Honeycrisps are like $100/lb. Haha! They’re always so dang pricy, but soooooo worth it. This is the greatest drink EVER. Really. It’s amazing. What can top this?
I kinda want the honeycrisp syrup just for drinking on its own too. Lol!
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This is sure to become our new favorite cocktail this Fall for me & my husband!
I’ve never tried bourbon before so what brand do you recommend? Any flavored bourbons? Thank you :)
P.s what do you guys mean by “fashioned ” ? Sorry for the questions. Cant wait to try these!!
I always make old fashioned with simple syrup – no grit if the sugar doesn’t dissolve all the way + tons of herbal flavors can be added.
I’ve been drinking gin old fashioned all summer, this seems like the perfect segway to fall!
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We have this local company that makes allllll these fun bitters – my fav is the black walnut. Would be so outstanding in this cocktail!
This looks great! I’d love to make a big batch for a party. Any general tips/suggestions for turning this into a party-size batch? Also, about many ounces of simple syrup do you tend to get when using 2 apples? Thank you!!!
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Made these this afternoon on a rainy day off! Delicious! But I’m curious what do you do with the rest of the apple puree. I’m not big into apple sauce (but was please to see I could make it if need be!) but was trying to think of another way to use it! Making your sangria for tailgating tomorrow!
oh my goodness, what else can we put this honeycrisp syrup in??? it sounds so amazing. I’m thinking in homemade soda, on cakes, in tea…
I seem to have made applesauce and not apple juice. Any idea where I went wrong? The apple puree is going through the sieve as well.
Ditto for me too! :-/ Help???
Need to use a finer mesh strainer. Or I would try cheesecloth
I had the same problem–Apple purée! I added about a half more cup of water, puréed again, and strained. It was very thick but i mixed it with the drink anyway. It was ok but I think you lose some of the tartness in cooking. Next time I’ll just juice the apple and make the simple syrup from that–saves a cooking step too.
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For an even more fall-apple take on the Old Fashioned, try substituting the the bourbon for Calvados (French Apple Brandy). Also, for the bitters, I find a small dash of orange bitters—in addition to the standard Angostura—works to give a slight citrus freshness to the ensemble. Also, I wonder if the Honeycrisp syrup would be improved by using honey rather than sugar as the sweetening component?
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If you only needed the honey crisp juice you should juice them. I used two giant honey crisps that yielded less than 1/4 cup with this recipe. It basically just made apple sauce.
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The apple syrup turned out like apple sauce and did not strain.
The recipe for the simple syrup doesn’t seem to work for me. It comes out as an apple sauce recipe. I would suggest either juicing the apple, using honeycrisp apple cider, or peeling the skin and making it and infused syrup that way.
Not sure if any of the commentators had or have tried make this? My apples turned to more of an apple sauce. There was no juice to strain. Maybe a video or some step by step photos would help. Or a more accurate time frame of how long to cook the apples? I was really looking forward to these this evening. Thinking now I’ll just have to reduce some cider to make my syrup.
I made an apple pie tonight and the recipe recommended cooking down the apples a bit before filling the crust and straining it. I realized I had inadvertently made apple simple syrup and I had to do something productive with it and thankfully your recipe made it happen. Thanks! I think there’s no need to purée the apples… like others have suggested. Just chop and cook on low for 30 minutes with sugar and cinnamon maybe.