Recipe

Make This Crisp, Batchable Bourbon Cider-tini for Your Next Fall Gathering

Name: Bourbon Cider-tinis
Yield: 6 drinks with ¾ cup syrup
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 2 cups apple cider; 1¼ cups bourbon; ¼ cup fresh lemon juice; 3 ounces Spiced Honey Syrup (recipe follows); 1 lemon wedge; 2 tbsp. sugar; ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon; Ice; 6 apple slices, for garnish; ½ cup honey; 1 (½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 star anise pods; Pinch of ground cloves

The cocktail Cortney LaCorte serves when she wants to see guests’ faces light up

Recipe by Cortney LaCorte

September 15, 2026

Photo: Emily Dorio

This cocktail is Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan walking through Central Park in When Harry Met Sally. It’s cozy. It’s light. It’s surprisingly refreshing—in that crisp, autumnal way that makes you want to throw on a sweater and romanticize your entire life. The honey-ginger syrup boasts fall favorites like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. Make that ahead of time, batch the drinks if you’re hosting, and garnish with a crisp apple slice that makes it look like you spent the weekend apple picking (nobody’s gonna know!) —Cortney LaCorte, from her new cookbook, Oversharing

Read our interview with LaCorte and get the recipe for her pimento cheese jalapeño poppers.

Bourbon Cider-tinis

Yield: 6 drinks with ¾ cup syrup

For the Bourbon Cider-tini

- 2 cups apple cider
- 1¼ cups bourbon
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 ounces Spiced Honey Syrup (recipe follows)
- 1 lemon wedge
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Ice
- 6 apple slices, for garnish

For the Spiced Honey Syrup

- ½ cup honey
- 1 (½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 star anise pods
- Pinch of ground cloves

Preparation

Prepare the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the honey, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and ½ cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the honey has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 20 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer and let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Make the drink: In a pitcher, combine the apple cider, bourbon, lemon juice, and honey syrup. Stir vigorously to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Before serving, rub the lemon wedge around the rim of each martini glass. On a small plate, combine the sugar and cinnamon, then dip the rims of the glasses in the cinnamon sugar to coat.
For each drink, pour ½ cup of the bourbon mixture into a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake for 30 seconds, then strain into one of the prepared glasses. Garnish with an apple slice.

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