Bottling autumn splendor has been Diane Flynt’s professional pursuit for nearly two decades. This maker of hard cider in Dugspur, Virginia, produces elegant, complex vintages that have more in common with fine wine than with most artificially flavored ciders on the market.
Once an early American specialty, the colonial beverage captures the essence of heritage apples—rare varietals once grown in the region for cider production. Diane’s Foggy Ridge ciders incorporate fruit that has been plucked at its peak of freshness and processed on-site for a distinctive taste of fall.
Summer Cider Cocktail
2016-09-12 20:45:31
Makes approximately 5 (5-ounce) cocktails
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup water
- Generous bunch thyme
- ¼ cup gin
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 bottle Foggy Ridge First Fruit Cider
- Garnish: fresh seasonal fruit
Instructions
- In a small pan, heat sugar and water over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat, and add thyme to simple syrup. Steep while syrup is cooling, then discard thyme. Add gin and lemon juice. Refrigerate until cold.
- Divide gin mixture among tall, narrow glasses and top with cider. Garnish with fruit, if desired.
Notes
- Cider does not have to be carbonated.
Victoria https://www.victoriamag.com/
Stone Fence
2016-09-12 20:46:32
Featured at the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.
Makes 1 cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces Bulleit Rye Whiskey
- 1 dash aromatic bitters
- 4 ounces Foggy Ridge First Fruit Cider
- .25 ounce maple syrup
- Garnish: fresh mint
Instructions
- Stir together whiskey, bitters, cider, and maple syrup, and pour over ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint, if desired.
Notes
- Cider does not have to be carbonated for this cocktail.
Victoria https://www.victoriamag.com/
Appalachian Dawn
2016-09-12 20:49:13
Featured at the 2014 Slow Food Terre Madre Salon del Gusto in Turin, Italy.
Makes 1 cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- .2 ounce Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
- .75 ounce Foggy Ridge Pippin Gold apple port
- .25 ounce honey syrup*
- 1 dash Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters
- 1 dash Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters
Instructions
- Add whiskey, port, syrup, and 1 dash each of lemon and aromatic bitters to shaker. Stir with ice. Strain into a rocks glass, and serve.
Notes
- *Honey syrup is made by stirring together equal parts Tupelo honey and water.
Victoria https://www.victoriamag.com/
The Drunken Botanist
2016-09-12 20:50:17
From Husk restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee.
Makes 1 cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- .5 ounce lemon juice
- .5 ounce sassafras tea syrup or other flavored tea syrup
- 2 dashes lovage bitters*
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- Foggy Ridge First Fruit Cider
- Lemon peel
- Garnish: Queen Anne’s lace
Instructions
- Shake and strain lemon juice, tea syrup, lovage bitters, and Angostura Bitters into a large coupe glass. Top with cider. Express a lemon peel over the drink to extract oils, and discard. Garnish with Queen Anne’s lace, if desired.
Notes
- *Lovage bitters are made in-house at Husk. Other herb-flavored bitters can be used as a substitute.
Victoria https://www.victoriamag.com/
New Jersey Cocktail
2016-09-12 20:51:34
From Chef Jay Pierce of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Makes 1 cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- .75 ounce Carriage House Apple Brandy
- 1 sugar cube
- 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
- 4 ounces Foggy Ridge First Fruit Cider
Instructions
- Pour brandy into a champagne glass. Add sugar cube and bitters. Fill with cider.
Victoria https://www.victoriamag.com/
Foggy Feeling Fizz
2016-09-12 20:53:17
From Rappahannock Oyster Co., in Richmond, Virginia.
Makes 1 cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye
- .5 ounce maple syrup
- .5 ounce lemon juice
- 1 egg white
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Foggy Ridge Stayman Winesap Cider
Instructions
- Combine whiskey, maple syrup, lemon juice, egg white, and bitters, and shake over ice. Pour into a highball glass. Top with cider.
Notes
- Cider does not need to be fully carbonated for this cocktail.
Victoria https://www.victoriamag.com/
Learn more about orchardist Diane Flynt in “The Making of Fine Cider,” on page 67 in the October 2016 issue of Victoria magazine.
