018: Darlene Hayes | Cider Cocktails, California

You might know Darlene Hayes by her blog All into Cider. There you can find some quick cider cocktail lore and recipes. Yes, Cider Cocktails are hot…again! That's right, again! Mixing spirits with cider has been favored by farmers to royalty alike (okay, not sure about the royalty, but I know my gramps used to love to age his cider in a bourbon barrel) ever since cider and spirits have been pouring.

Yes, Ciderville we are both going to become a bit more "in the know" with this special chat with Darlene Hayes on how to make cider cocktails.

Darlene Hayes measures out the bourbon for the Stone Fence cider cocktail New Cider Books By Darlene Hayes

Author Darlene Hayes has captured the "spirit" of a cocktail made with cider in her book aptly called "Cider Cocktails, Another Bit of the Apple" (2015) Spotted Cat Press, Canada. The 2nd Edition of this book is now available! Go to this link to purchase!

2nd edition of Cider Cocktails

The book provides an historical overview of classic drinks like the Stone Fence, a recipe coalling for bourbon with a semi dry cider. Darlene and I chatted as she mixed both a Stone Fence and the Gin Gin Jenny (gin, ginger cider and lime) when we met up in Portland Oregon at CiderCon in 2016.

Darlene made us the perfect cocktails for a good cider chat…or it is cider cocktail chat?

Cider Cocktails also has a chapter of recipes for Appetizers to serve with your cocktail. And, at the end of the book she included, "Basic Recipes". Here you will find her take on Simple Syrup, a syrup used in making cocktails and Crème fraîche, a spread used in many a yummy appetizer and more.

This book is a recommended read for anyone taking the United States Association of Cider Maker "Level 1 Course in Cider Certification. And with all the new cider bars opening around the country, most notable The Northman in Chicago expected to open later this month – this is a great handbook for bartenders, cider bar owners and anyone looking to expand their cider horizons.

A slice of orange peal is squeezed into the Stone Fence cider cocktail Contact info for Darlene Hayes

• Website: allintocider.com/

Mentions in this Cider Chat

• Cider Bars
  • Wassail, New York City – now closed
  • The Northman, Chicago – the original location is closed but there is now the Northman Beer and Cider Garden which is open once the weather in Chicago gets nice! It is along the River
• Distilleries
  • Spirit Works Distillery, California
  • Neversink Spirits, New York
  • Clear Creek Distillery, Portland Oregon now known as Hood River Distillery
  • Apple Country Spirits, New York – now known as Rootstock Cider & Spirits
  • Saint George Distillery, California
  • Sonoma County Distilling Company, California