Christmas is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with a cocktail inspired by the classic, “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”! The classic tale recounts how Rudolph doesn’t quite fit in because of his bright, red, shiny nose. Ultimately, what makes Rudolph not fit in is what helps him stand out, and his shiny red nose saves the day. To help you stand out for the holidays, we’ve crafted Rudolph’s Nose to be a mocktail / cocktail that’s both kid and adult friendly.
This cocktail infuses another childhood memory, spiced apples. These bright red apples come in jars and are infused with a sweet, cinnamon spice syrup that gives them a bite! They most commonly are served with ham, but are delicious on their own (especially if you’re a kid (or still young at heart) and love something a little sweet!). Instead of buying the whole jar of apples, we set out to recreate the flavor. Be aware, the syrup is slightly time consuming to make, but can be done in advance – and you can even use it to make the apples!
Rudolph’s Nose
Rudolph’s Nose glows brightly with warm baking spices and crisp cider. The apple notes compliment well with the strong cinnamon and clove flavor with just a hint of spice. The combination is remarkably friendly to adding spirits or enjoying without. Be aware, just like the sleigh leader, it is on the sweet side!
Drink Notes & Recommendations
Rudolph’s Nose is designed to be easy to make, but there are a few tricks to getting it right. First, we recommend adding a small amount of cider or liquor to the glass to stir with the syrup due to thickness. By incorporating this before topping with the remaining cider, you’ll ensure an even distribution of the syrup.
- Sparkling Apple Cider – We wanted to make sure the flavor of apples was prevalent to compliment the syrup, so we went with sparkling apple cider. Any non-alcoholic apple cider will do here, but we used Martinelli’s.
- Liquor – This is an optional inclusion in the drink, but one that adults might like to add. We recommend to include no more than an ounce of your favorite spirit for flavor. In our test we found that any spirit will likely work, as long as you find you enjoy it to begin with. We tried El Dorado 3, Laird Straight Applejack, and Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon, all of which worked fantastically.
- Garnish – To add the illusion of the nose, we added a maraschino cherry. The florescent color is fun and kid friendly.
- Spiced Red Apple Syrup – This syrup is slightly complicated, but can be made in advance, and should hold up well in the fridge for several weeks to a couple months. As always, discharge in the event of any clouding or mold growth.
Spiced Red Apple Syrup
- 8 oz – Cinnamon Hard Candy
- 10 g – Cloves
- 20 g – Cinnamon Stick broken into 1 inch pieces
- 1 – Dried Guajillo Pepper (optional)
- 1 – Empty Tea Bag for use in 12 cup tea cup.
- 24 oz of water
Combine the cloves, cinnamon stick, and guajillo pepper in a tea bag. Tie off the end, and set aside. In a metal sauce pan, bring water to a boil over high heat, and add a 1/3 of the cinnamon hard candies. Stir using a silicon non-stick spatula to facilitate the breakdown of the candies. After 5 minutes, add the next 1/3. Continue to occasionally stir. Repeat for the final 1/3 after another 5 minutes. Continue to boil until the candies are fully dissolved.
After the candies are full dissolved. Add in the tea bag and boil for 30 minutes. There will be significant reduction in volume. If the syrup becomes too thick, add an additional 4 oz of water. After 30 minutes, remove from heat, and allow to steep for an additional hour and half. After an hour and half, remove the teabag and pour the syrup into a clean bottle. Refrigerate until ready for use.
Syrup Notes: This syrup is tricky. As you are melting the cinnamon candies, expect that the syrup will form some gummy spots. These will stick to the spatula (even silicone), but just keep stirring with the candy stuck to the spatula to help melt the sugar. They will dissolve eventually. The original idea was to use red hots, but we found that cinnamon discs from Walgreens happen to have a more consistent cinnamon flavor. These are the candies that you might have found in your grandparents candy bowl that are big and oval shaped. You can typically get these for about $2-3 for a 16oz bag where they’re individually wrapped.
Feeling like you’ve been a little bad this year? Why not try A Lump of Coal Instead?
