Spiced apple cider dressed up as a poison apple cider mule mocktail for Halloween for all to enjoy.

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Between not really wanting to drink alcohol much anymore due to making healthier choices and it giving me instantaneous headaches half of the time, I make a lot more mocktails these days. I especially love that a lot of restaurants are also adding more fun mocktails on the menus beyond Shirley Temples, because drinks don’t have to have alcohol in it to be fun.

This poison apple cider mule mocktail is modified from my apple cider mule to contain Hipstirs pumpkin spice syrup instead of vodka. With the presence of ginger beer (or ginger ale if you prefer) you really don’t notice he lack of vodka in the mix, which is why mules are one of my favorite mocktails to make.

Don’t want to buy this syrup? You can make homemade pumpkin spice syrup but you’ll have a lot more of it. Which I don’t see as an issue because it would go great in tea or coffee.

As for the “poison” apples that honestly make this poison apple cider, they are simply dyed overnight in a mixture or water, lemon juice, and butterfly pea powder. You could use purple (or red mixed with blue) food coloring if you prefer but I thought it was fun to use this since I already had some on hand.

If you plan ahead, the day before when you are making the “poison” apples you could grab your silicone skull trays to make some festive ice cubes too. You’re already prepping ahead so why not one more thing? If you are like me and only have two trays and not enough to fill multiple glasses, you can cheat like I did and only put them on top. The secret is out – ha!

POISON APPLE CIDER MULE MOCKTAIL

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Yield: 1 Serving Prep Time: 8 Hours 15 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

"POISON" APPLES

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp butterfly pea flower powder
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 green or golden delicious apple, cored and sliced
• Gummy worms

SPICED APPLE CIDER MOCKTAIL

• 4 oz. apple cider
• 4 oz. ginger beer or ale
• 1 oz. Hipstirs pumpkin spice syrup

Directions

1. In a medium glass bowl, whisk together the water, butterfly pea flower powder, and lemon juice. Puncture one small hole into each apple slice* and submerge the slices in the purple mixture. Cover with lid or plastic wrap, and place in the fridge overnight.
2. The next day, in a 12 oz glass add apple cider, ginger beer/ale, and pumpkin spice syrup. Stir, add ice, then garnish with an apple slice with a gummy worm laced through the hole. Serve immediately.

Notes

*I used the small end of a medium round piping tip. A sturdy straw would also work.

Source: Poison apples from Holistic Rendezvous, originally inspired by Karlee Sisler Flores. Mocktail adapted from my Apple Cider Mule.

What do you call a mixed up version of a whiskey sour with drambuie, blue curacao, and ginger ale added to it? A bunch of malarkey.

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It’s election day! And I’ve got a boozy cocktail for you. Granted, due to the volume of early voters, and voters in general this year (about time), we likely won’t have a final count by the end of today. But at least social media can stop reminding me to vote when I already did 2 weeks ago!

However, I should have done my research before making this cocktail because apparently neither Biden nor Trump drink alcohol due to alcoholism in their family. Absolutely no shame in that. But there is zero way of making this cocktail non-alcoholic. My bad.

BTW, props to any of my followers who do not drink, regardless of it being a lifetime or recently. I don’t drink very often, one a week at most, but I did consider cutting it out completely after the death of someone close to me this year which was alcohol related. Take care of yourselves out there and drink responsibly! 

But I digress…

A friend of mine Haley, who used to come over and play cocktail mixologist with me when she still lived in Columbus, helped me conjure up this beast. We virtually tried quite a few different variations before settling on this one, playing with vodka, Campari, bitters, root beer, and butterscotch schnapps.

We ended up settling with whiskey, Drambuie (a Scotch whiskey liqueur), a little sour mix, a little blue curacao, and a splash (or more) of ginger ale. Yes, it’s a bunch of seemingly random nonsense (or malarkey in this situation) that somehow tastes good. It reminds me of a whiskey sour but less sour, a little more citrus, and some added herbal depth.

Don’t have all these fancy ingredients? Consult my post for the Quarantini where I show you how to make a cocktail out of just about anything. 

Two years ago: Inside Out Buckeyes

Seven years ago: Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

Eight years ago: Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

MALARKEY COCKTAIL

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Yield: 1 serving Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

1.5 oz. whiskey
1 oz. Drambuie Scotch whiskey liqueur
0.5 oz. sour mix
0.5 oz. blue curacao
Up to 3 oz. ginger ale
Ice
Lemon, for garnish

Directions

1. Combine whiskey, drambuie, sour mix, and blue curacao in a cocktail mixing glass. Fill with ice and stir until chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon peel and serve.

Did you make this recipe? I want to see!
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