Candy Apple Recipe

Malty brown ale and crisp hard cider combine in this simple two-ingredient cocktail. [Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Toasty, malty, and a little nutty, a good brown ale is plenty complex in its own right. But sometimes I find myself wishing it packed just a little more punch. Enter hard cider. This simple two-ingredient cocktail manages to highlight the mouth-coating caramel-toffee quality of the brown, cut with a nice, sharp rinse of tart cider.

Note: Do be sure to seek out a really dry, crisp cider—ask for something tart and not too funky, like the Nine Pin in the image above, a Bordelet Sidre Brut, or Le Père Jules Brut. Can't find them? Give Angry Orchard Traditional Dry a shot, or Original Sin Apple Cider. If you're on the East Coast, consider Harpoon Cider or Doc's Cider. West Coasters, keep an eye out for Seattle Cider Works Dry Cider or 2 Town's Bright Cider. And for the Midwesterners out there, Uncle John's Hard Cider or Vandermill Hard Apple Cider will do the trick!