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Cocktail Moment: The Northern Spy

A Thanksgiving libation created by Josey Packard

*Adapted from the show script

Prepare a mixture of sugar and cinnamon in a small dish.Wet the rim of a glass with a slice of lemon.Turn the glass with the wet rim upside down and place in the sugar/cinnamon mixture so that it sticks to the rim of the glass.

Now on to the drink...

Into your shaker full of ice add:

2 oz Laird's Straight Bonded Applejack ("bonded" indicates that this is the 100 proof kind) As an alternative you may consider Calvados.

½ oz Apricot Brandy or else apricot liqueur (use less to temper sweetness)

1 oz apple cider (non-preservative-laden, even non-pasturized, is even better)

½ oz lemon juice from actual lemon, by which we mean the fruit

Beg the pardon of your holiday guests as you make a spectacle of yourself shaking the mix with fervent, noisy vigor.

Strain into the prepared glass.

Consider the option of topping with champagne, but no pressure, the cocktail is wonderful either way.

Garnish with cranberries, which you are not, under any circumstances, to eat.

Enjoy.