A good cocktail recipe becomes a mocktail recipe when you remove the alcohol and add something refreshing like fizzy water. Readers of River City Good Eats notice alcohol- free variations in my cocktail recipes. Today’s White Pepper Grape Cocktail is no different. Flexibility is key in gracious entertaining, I say. Continue reading
When you live in a state that boasts of the world’s apple capital (Winchester, Virginia), you stock up on as many apples and apple products like fresh cider and apple butter as you can during the peak season. Hoping to craft a cocktail with apple essence, I roamed the aisles of the local liquor store and found not one, but several, brands of Virginia apple brandy. The friendly sales clerk schooled me in the difference between applejack (apple plus grain spirits with a lighter flavor profile) and apple brandy ( apple cider aged and possessing a rich depth). Woods Mill Distillery in Faber, Virginia, produces a fine smoky tasting apple brandy which was used for today’s autumn cocktail. Continue reading