Entertainment
My Go-To Holiday Cocktail Is the Apple Cider Old-Fashioned
A fragrant, simmering pot of apple cider is how this Old-Fashioned recipe from Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen Keepers begins, as you transform the cider into a sweet concentrate. Then you add bourbon, bitters, and ice for the perfect come-on-in-and-make-yourself-at-home cocktail that will disappear as quickly as the gigantic cheese ball. (Meaning, very!)
Why this recipe is a keeper for me:
* It serves 6 but can easily be doubled to make a big batch
* You can make it up to one! month! ahead!
* It tastes like a visit to a cider mill in peak fall
* The cider concentrate can also make mocktails for kiddos and nondrinkers (just add seltzer)
* Everyone I’ve served it to has swooned with happiness
For serving, I highly recommend acquiring garage sale vintage holiday glassware, which makes everything taste better.
If I’m using underwhelming grocery store cider, I might also add cinnamon sticks, star anise, or orange peel to oomph up the flavor — or the new pumpkin pie spice 2.0 from Burlap and Barrel that I’m obsessed with.
As for the alcohol, I love bourbon because it’s made of at least 51% corn and corn is sweet. That, plus the aging in oak, gives it warm dessert notes that play well with the cider. Rye has a sharper, stronger flavor from rye berries, so use that if you prefer a more booze-forward drink. Or use some peat-y scotch and put some much-needed hair on your chest! Keep ya warm in the winter.
Fun fact: Smitten Kitchen Keepers just came out as an audiobook. You can listen to Deb’s warm voice narrate the stories behind each recipe — or just follow the instructions below with your eyeballs:
Apple-Cider Old-Fashioned
1 quart (4 cups, or 950 grams) regular or spiced apple cider
½ teaspoon pumpkin or apple pie spice (if the cider isn’t spiced)
12 shakes orange or Angostura bitter (don’t skip! This rounds everything out and keeps it from tasting like booze and juice)
2 cups (475 grams) rye or bourbon whiskey (or more, if needed)
Ice
Apple slices, for garnish (or those dried orange wheels from Trader Joe’s)
Make the cider concentrate: Boil the apple cider and spice, if using, in a 3-to-4-quart saucepan over high heat until it is a shade darker and syrupy, reduced to about ⅔ cup in volume. This takes about 25-30 minutes on my stove. Stir occasionally, especially near the end, when you want to make sure it doesn’t cook off too far. (If it does, it won’t ruin the drink, but the texture can be thicker and harder to keep mixed.)
Mix with whiskey: Let it cool to room temperature; then whisk in the bitters. In a thin stream, slowly whisk in the whiskey until it’s evenly combined. Taste, and add more whiskey, up to ½ cup, if desired. Transfer the mixture to a lidded carafe, and chill thoroughly until you’re ready to serve.
To serve: Place one large or a few smaller ice cubes in an Old-Fashioned glass (6 ounces). If the apple cider has settled in the carafe, give it another stir, and pour it over the ice. Garnish with an apple slice, if using, and toast to the new season.
Thoughts? What drinks to you enjoy over the holidays? Hot chocolate? Icy wine?
P.S. 5 fun things I noticed at a drinks party, and how to host a cookie swap.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files by Deb Perelman. Copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Entertainment
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is at the lowest price weve seen all year
SAVE $75: The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $299. That’s a 25% discount.
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Packing up for an adventure means figuring out how to bring along a soundtrack. A trip to the cabin or a lakeside campground all deserve to be experienced with a great playlist. If you could use an upgrade before summer to get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, check out this deal at Amazon.
As of April 22, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $299. That’s a 25% discount that takes $75 off the price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon so far this year.
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Before summer kicks into high gear, add the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker to your pack. It’s ready for any adventure you have planned.
Entertainment
Get some new wrist candy with the CMF Watch Pro 2 at its lowest price ever
SAVE $39.01: As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s a discount of 49% and the lowest price we’ve seen.
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There are tons of smartwatches on the market if you’re in need of one. But if you’re willing to look beyond the Apple Watches or Samsung devices out there, you’ll find an awesome alternative from the Nothing brand that’ll save you some serious cash. Not only is it more affordable than the competition, but it’s got everything you could want and then some. In fact, one of the models is on sale right now.
As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s $39.01 off and a discount of 49%. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen.
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With interchangeable watch straps and an attractive face, this extremely reasonable smartwatch is definitely one to rival Apple and Samsung. You’ll want to grab yours while it’s still down to the lowest price we’ve seen.
Entertainment
Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
SAVE 15%: As of April 22, you can get the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $339.99, down from $399.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $60 savings.
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Working off a laptop is great until you realize you only have two ports and need to plug something in. If you’re hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you’re pretty much out of luck on the rest. Not only that, but your previously uncluttered desk will most likely look like a Best Buy exploded (a rat’s nest of cords isn’t cute or helpful for anyone getting work done).
If you literally hate mess and cords as much as I do, you need a docking station to hide all that chaos and protect your aesthetic. Right now, Anker’s Prime TB5 Docking Station is on sale for $339.99 at Amazon, down from $399.99. (That’s a $60 price cut.)
Mashable Deals
Are you going to use all 14 ports at the exact same time? Probably not, but you’ll never have to dig through your bag for a specific adapter again. You just plug a single cable into your laptop, and the dock handles the rest. It features a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port, two Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, SD and TF card readers, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an audio jack, and your choice of HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1. It’s also fast enough to transfer a 150GB file in 25 seconds.
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