So Apple Pie Moonshine – if it hasn’t been on your radar, read on my friend. This is a delish adult beverage that’s going to be fantastic at any fall/winter outing, tailgate, or football party, or bonfire, or maybe even Thanksgiving, or after you rake leaves, or at the cabin, or on that ski or snowmobile trip. You get the idea! Serve it anytime.
Apple Pie Moonshine
Oh, btw, serve your Apple Pie Moonshine shine in good old-fashioned Mason Jars if you have them. Really, it’s only fitting, lol! Of course, decanting it into a glass gallon jug or growler for keeping only adds to the experience! Just sayin’…
About Apple Pie Moonshine Alcohol Content:
Don’t let this scare you: Apple Pie Moonshine is made from apple cider, a few whole spices, a little sugar, Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, and Everclear. Yep, Everclear. Now Everclear and I are not friends. Something to do with a Scorpions concert at Red Rocks when I was a kid. Everclear if you’re not familiar is a strong grain alcohol, 190 proof, and its nothing to fool around with.
There’s no danger in this recipe because I fiddled and faddled and formulated this Apple Pie Moonshine carefully (and I wish everyone who has a recipe for it would do the same) so your glassful is only going to be about 12 percent alcohol.
That means a 6-ounce glass will have very slightly more alcohol content than your average beer but will be right along the lines of a mixed cocktail. It’s a fine line. You want enough alcohol to preserve but not so much that it’s gonna knock your socks off.
The Cast of Characters:
OK, I said no danger, but now that I think about it, there might still be a little coz this stuff tastes sooooo good! I mean c’mon. The name alone sings like a Siren’s song. If Apple Pie Moonshine doesn’t make you think of crisp fall nights in a moonlit wood, living just under the radar, I don’t know what would.
In addition to the everclear, there’s the Apple Pie part of Apple Pie Moonshine. You know it HAS to be good. That comes from the Apple Cider, a little Spiced Rum, and the classic fall flavors of cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Num!
The Apple Cider:
You can start with your everyday grocery store cider or fresh cider. Given a choice, I’d try to make this with the fresh cider, although there’s a little extra involved; you’ll have to give the finished product a strain to remove any particles before it’s ready to serve.
- The highly filtered, bottled cider is available all year round and makes a very tasty Apple Pie Moonshine. You’ll find it (usually) under or near the gallons of apple juice at the grocery. This is convenient and makes really good Apple Pie Moonshine although it doesn’t have quite the complexity of the moonshine made with fresh cider.
- You’ll find fresh cider in the fall. At the grocery, it’s usually in the produce aisle (sometimes refrigerated) but you can find it at a farm stand, farmer’s market, and just about any place you can buy or pick apples. I think it makes a better Apple Pie Moonshine, but it’s a little more involved since it needs to be filtered twice. On the plus side, it will carry some of the tart flavor that comes from the fresh cider.
Aging Your Apple Pie Moonshine:
There is one important thing to know about Apple Pie Moonshine. When it’s first made, it’s a little rough. Don’t taste it and toss it! It mellows with time. Ideally, mellow it for at least two weeks. Magic happens, and if you can wait it just gets better and better!
If you forget about your Apple Pie Moonshine and leave it for a couple of months in the back of a dark cupboard, it’s like !x^^#$@?(****#%!!! good! I absolutely am not kidding – you might even want to make a couple of jugs and sample it along the way.
Always store your Apple Pie Moonshine in a cool, dark place, preferably somewhere the temperature doesn’t vary a lot.
Serving Apple Pie Moonshine:
Serve your Apple Pie Moonshine at room temperature, chilled, or over ice if you want to. I like it slightly warm, maybe from a Slow Cooker set on low, especially if there is a crowd. I wouldn’t warm this on the stove, you’ll want to be careful of the heat. Alcohol is highly flammable and heat also destroys its potency. I’m sure those in the know might hesitate at the thought of even using a slow cooker so this is one of those at your own risk situations.
A fun idea is to make little cocktails of the warm Moonshine, maybe in mugs or something along the lines of an Irish Coffee type glass. Top with a little whipped cream, and a drizzle of caramel sauce, and add a cinnamon stick for a jaunty touch.
Apple Pie Moonshine
Making Apple Pie Moonshine:
This recipe makes just slightly over 2 quarts, about 1/2 gallon. Enough for a bottle for you and one for some other lucky person. Maybe as a gift? And there’s just a smidge extra for sampling. Gotta sample the goods, right? Of course, you can increase the recipe easily which I recommend since it just keeps getting better and better with time.
Use whole spices that can easily be removed from the finished cider. Attempting a shortcut using ground spices will make your cider muddy looking and there’s not a good way to control the flavor.
Bonus:
- Whole spices can be kept almost indefinitely in a tightly sealed jar in a dark, cool cupboard. See Are my Dried Spices and Herbs still Good?
- This moonshine uses very few whole spices. If you’re not a cook/baker, you might want to ask someone you know for a few of the spices rather than buy a whole jar.
To make your Apple Pie Moonshine, just heat up a little of the cider and dissolve the sugar, then transfer it to a big pitcher or pot and dump in the remainder of the cider. Then add alcohol and spices. There is no sense in heating all of the cider and waiting for it to cool to room temperature.
After mixing, pour into bottles (glass is best) and store it for at least two weeks. At that point, you’ll want to strain to remove the spices and if using fresh cider, filter it twice. Put it through a strainer lined with a coffee filter for best results. It’s all easy peasy. Easy as pie. Easy as Apple Pie, lol!
Saving Money:
- Anytime you’re buying alcohol, it pays to shop around for the best price. If there’s a shop you like, get on their email list. You’ll find great sales before almost any holiday and most hard liquor goes on sale in early spring; usually right after the big spring wine sales.
- Good apple cider is going to cost more than a plain old grocery store cider and may be seasonal in your area. The good cider is worth it in my not so humble opinion. 🙂
- The best savings are how much better your homemade Apple Pie Moonshine is than store-bought, and how much more inexpensive it is to make as opposed to buying.
Apple Pie Moonshine
Apple Pie Moonshine
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 weeks to mellow
- Total Time: 31 minute
- Yield: 2 1/2 quarts 1x
- Category: Beverage
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon (2 quarts) good apple cider, preferably cold, divided
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 long or 4 small sticks of cinnamon
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 allspice berries
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) Everclear, 190 proof
- 1 cup (8 ounces) Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum
Instructions
In a medium sized saucepan, add two cups of apple cider, the sugar, and spices, and heat over medium heat, stirring now and then until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and pour into a large pitcher or pot. (The pitcher/pot will need to hold more than 1/2 gallon.) Add the remainder of the cider and stir. If the cider is cool or cold, the mixture should be cool by now so add the alcohol. If not wait until it reaches room temperature to add the alcohol.
Pour into two containers for storage, preferably glass, dividing the spices between the two. Store for at least two weeks in a dark, cool place to mellow the Apple Pie Moonshine. At this point, strain the spices out of the moonshine, and if starting with fresh cider, filter, preferably twice, through a coffee filter placed in a strainer. If there is no coffee filter available, try a thin cloth or multiple layers of cheesecloth.
After the initial two weeks of mellowing and straining, the moonshine can be served or you can continue to age. Serve at room temperature, slightly warm, or chilled over ice.
Notes:
- There may be some foam-like substance floating on the top of the pitcher when mixed. It can be skimmed off if desired, but it dissolves right back into the cider in a day or so.
- If starting with fresh cider, even after straining, there may be a slight amount of sediment that settles to the bottom. This is harmless; either mix back in or let it sit on the bottom of the jug as you pour.
- This recipe comes out to a little over 12 percent alcohol. A six ounce serving (3/4s of a cup) is about the same amount of alcohol as a standard Rum & Coke and slightly more than a beer.
- Although it is recommended the Moonshine be mellowed for at least two weeks, it just keeps getting better and better with time. In my opinion, it is best at five to six months or longer. The longest I’ve kept this has been about a year.
Keywords: Alcohol, apple cider, Beverages, Captain Morgan, cocktail, everclear, Rum
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I’ll be sharing Apple Pie Moonshine on our very own Throwback Thursday Link Party as well as on Fiesta Friday. The co-hosts are Margy @ La Petite Casserole and Suzanne @ apuginthekitchen. It wouldn’t be Saturday without linking up at Saucy Saturdays blog hop!
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