The Kristy Kringle is a party maker that’s full of fresh flavors, and will keep you warm all winter long! Make it for yourself or make it for a crowd!
The holidays scream, “Give me a cocktail!” Whether it’s an office party, a family get together, or an ugly Christmas sweater party with friends having a great drink is a must.
This apple smash cocktail is one of those drinks! It has a crazy good combination of fresh flavors. It can also easily be made it a big batch and served in a pitcher, just like my apple cider sangria.
That way you can pour and serve instead of shaking to order. Love that!
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What is a Smash Cocktail?
A smash is basically a cocktail that includes a spirit, sweetener, herbs, seasonal fruit, and ice.
My favorite example of a smash is the Mint Julep. Yep. It’s totally a smash. Ha!
Preparation goes like this… Muddle together the fruit and herbs together. Add spirit, sweetener, and ice. Shake and strain over ice. Boom. You’re done. So easy!
Ingredients for an Apple Smash
- Gala apples – I like the sweetness of these apples, but pink ladies or Honeycrisp apples would work well too
- Ginger root – No ground ginger here! get the fresh stuff at the store. You won’t need much.
- Vodka – Choose a good quality vodka so it doesn’t take away from the fresh ingredients
- Orange liqueur – Your choice of triple sec, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau
- Orange juice
- Lime juice – Fresh is best for this recipe!
- Simple syrup
- Water
- Ice
So the name. My super amazing blogger friend Kristy from She Eats has a cocktail on her site called Kristy’s Cold Weather Vodka Cocktail. (Say that 3 times fast.) I got hooked up with Kristy years ago in a blog recipe exchange group and made this drink.
It was awesome! But the name was WAY to long to say every time I talked about it. Which was happening a lot because it’s delicious and I had to tell all my friends about it.
So I took matters into my own hands and gave Kristy’s cocktail a holiday-themed makeover! Now here we are drinking Kristy Kringles! While I went a bit Christmas-y with the name, this apple ginger smash cocktail recipe is great for 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime you want a tasty drink with fresh flavors.
How To Make an Apple Smash Recipe
- Start by rimming the glass. To do this, mix together the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Then pour sugar out onto a small plate. The plate needs to be wider than your glass.
- Dip the rim of the glass into some orange juice and then into the cinnamon-sugar. Carefully fill the glasses with ice. You don’t want to knock off the sugar rim. Set these glasses aside while you make your cocktails.
- Start by adding the gala apple pieces and fresh ginger root to a cocktail shaker. Use a muddler to pulverize the apple and ginger together. You want to release all those juices. Then you’ll fill your shaker 3/4 full with ice.
- Next pour the vodka, orange liqueur, orange juice, lime juice, simple syrup and water into the shaker. Place the lid on your shaker and give it a good shake for about 30 seconds. The shaker should be nice and cold by the time you’re done.
- After you shake things up, strain the cocktail into your prepared rocks glasses. I like to garnish this drink with half of an apple slice, but a cinnamon stick would work great as well.
I love how the citrus plays off the apple in this cocktail. One sip and you’ll never need another apple smash drink recipe!
You may have heard of Captain Morgan Apple Smash. It’s a green apple-flavored rum in a scratch and sniff bottle that’s also green in color. (Think apple pucker) Don’t use it for this drink! It’ll give this cocktail a cool yellow-green color, but it completely changes the taste.
That being said, you could definitely change out the vodka for whiskey in this cocktail and have an apple whiskey smash that’s pretty delicious. Maybe even a cinnamon whiskey like Fireball. If you try this, let me know if you like it, please!
More Cocktails for a Crowd
- Pineapple Mint Prosecco Punch
- Fish Bowl Cocktail
- Pina Colada Rum Punch
- Hurricane Party Punch
- More drink recipes…
More Apple Recipes
The Kristy Kringle | Apple Smash Cocktail
Ingredients
- ¼ of a Gala apple
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger peeled and sliced super thin
- 3 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce orange liqueur
- ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice (1/2 lime)
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 teaspoon water
- Ice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 slice Gala apple cut in half, for garnish
- 1 cinnamon sticks for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Pour onto a small plate and spread into an even layer at least as wide as the opening of your glass.
- Cut a slit in one of the apple pieces and run the fruit around the rim or two rocks glasses. Dip the rim of the glass into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Carefully fill the glass with ice (don't knock off the rim!) and set aside.
- In the bottom of a cocktail shaker muddle together the apple and ginger.
- Fill the shaker with ice, and add in the vodka, orange liqueur, lime juice, orange juice, simple syrup, and water.
- Shake well until chilled.
- Strain the cocktail into your prepared glasses. Garnish with an apple slice or cinnamon stick.
Notes
*Do not add ice to the pitcher, it'll water down the cocktail!
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
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