Andy Sauce

The official beverage of the holiday season has finally revealed itself!

Recently, when Andy asked me to invent a cocktail that was named after him, he might have been sort of joking, but I took it all quite seriously, as you might imagine. I agreed enthusiastically within seconds (Liquor! Darling boyfriend! Certainly!), and proceeded to develop his magical holiday potion. Since then, we've made many variations of it, depending on what ingredients we have around, but the mainstay ingredients are apple juice and rhubarb bitters. I'd recommend a "good" apple juice -- either a fresh cider, homemade apple juice, or, the easiest choice, Simply Apple brand juice. If you have a juicer and you're feeling like taking this project really seriously, go for it! It will make this cocktail outstanding. (We did this once and it was a complete pain in the ass but easily the most delicious drink I have ever consumed -- no joke.) Otherwise, store bought apple juice will also be delicious and way more reasonable when you're dealing with a crowd.

In terms of liquor, we originally used whiskey, but it also works really well with vodka or gin. The fruit component is also not crucial, but the original had brandied cherries (with juice), which I sometimes have on hand, and they are quite nice. Otherwise, frozen dark sweet cherries work really well -- you can just plunk them in, or defrost them a bit and muddle them into the drink. And, honestly, this is YOUR sauce, so you can do anything you want with it! I'm sure you and the drink would benefit from fruit variations, or any additions of your choice.

Andy Sauce
This is, basically, a recipe for two drinks, to be made in a cocktail shaker. You can multiply the ingredient amounts and prepare this in a pitcher or a punch bowl if you're planning to serve more folks (or if you and your companion are planning on drinking A LOT).

Prepare your cocktail glasses: 
Dip moistened rims in a mixture of cinnamon, coarse sugar, and powdered ginger.

Prepare your cocktail: 
In a shaker, combine ice and equal parts apple juice and whiskey. Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of cherry juice, brandied cherry juice, or just dark sweet frozen cherries. Add a few dashes of bitters -- rhubarb is my favorite for this, although I'm sure other kinds would be lovely as well. Shake. Serve straight up in your adorned cocktail glasses. Top with a bit of seltzer if you're feeling bubbly!

Now then, get on with the new year already, would ya?