This Honey Cider Cocktail is a perfect drink for the grownups—a little sweet, a little tart—to serve at your next Fall or Winter gathering!

This beautiful drink has a delicious cinnamon-sugar rim, a fan of a few sliced apples, and a one-two punch of whiskey-honey-lemon that is going to have you and your guests ooo-ing and ahh-ing the whole time!

Let’s just say when we were taste-testing this delicious Honey Cider Cocktail drink, I couldn’t get enough and ended up having a nap at 3 pm!

It’s on our own list of go-to drinks for this coming Thanksgiving for sure.

Don’t leave out the lemon wedge to moisten the rim before adding the cinnamon-sugar mix. It adds a tart finish that is just so wonderful.

I’m not a whiskey fan usually, but it blends so wonderfully with the honey syrup and rich apple cider…whew.

I actually received a gift bottle of some incredible apple cider from Williams-Sonoma, a Five-Apple Spiced Cider that was just so rich and beautifully flavored, I knew I’d have to pop this one open to make this Honey Cider Cocktail.

I’m so glad I did. But you don’t have to indulge in a $17 bottle of cider to make this drink.

Cider is expensive enough as it is, am I right?

Get the stuff you find in the grocery store—all the other ingredients here will elevate this delicious drink like you wouldn’t believe.

We will show you how to make the honey syrup, too.

Also, because of the kinda pointy cocktail picks and alcohol content, keep out of reach of children.

What is Apple Cider?

In short, apple cider is a non-alcoholic beverage made from pressed apples.

It’s darker and stronger tasting than apple juice because it’s unfiltered.

Read the labels because more drinks have the word “cider” in them that do contain alcohol.

For this Honey Cider Cocktail, the recipe calls for non-alcoholic apple cider that you buy in half gallon jugs in the supermarket or at farmers markets.

Tips for making Honey Cider Cocktail

Be sure to rim the glasses before you pour any liquid into them, or you’ll have to transfer the contents out and start over.
Honey syrup sounds intimidating to make, but “syrup” is only the emulsified honey and water so that you don’t have the thick, sticky honey straight out of the jar that won’t mix well into your cocktail. This way you get the flavor without the blob at the bottom of your glass.
Honey syrup will keep in the fridge for up to a month. Transfer extras to an airtight container.
We wanted to make these as picture-perfect as possible, but you don’t have to go all out with the apple slices if you don’t have time (or the apples).

Supplies to gather

Tools:

Stovetop
Small Saucepan
Wooden Spoon
Measuring Spoons
Small Plate
Coupe Glass
Jigger
Cocktail Shaker
Cocktail Strainer
Cutting Board
Knife
Cocktail Pick

Ingredients:

Honey
Cinnamon
White Sugar
Whole Lemon or Lemon Juice
Irish Whiskey
Apple Cider
Whole Apple

The bottom line

I was dubious about this Honey Cider Cocktail recipe because I’m not a huge whiskey fan, but all of these flavorful ingredients really come together to make a drink that will be hard to put down.

Don’t leave out the lemon juice rim, because it cuts the sweetness and elevates the cinnamon and honey flavors.

You can always use a squeeze bottle of lemon juice if you don’t have a whole lemon around, but make sure to use it for the rim.