jack rose cocktail

Today is my five year wedding anniversary! The lateness of this post is proof of the fact that we took it super easy, pampered ourselves, ate too much, and reminisced alllllll day long. I love an excuse to take a step back from daily life and celebrate, don't you? Life is not always as graceful as that first wedding dance. Weeks like this one, for instance, can involve hurdles like hormonal tears, sleepless nights, and mouse traps, just to name a few...so it's important to stop and make some nice time for yourselves - and to appreciate the partner you've chosen to dance through it all with.

And what better way to celebrate than with a thematic cocktail?! Reuben and I got married at a place in the Hudson Valley called Apple Barn Farm. During cocktail hour, while we had the obligatory photos taken and the farm's horses entertained our guests by galloping around in the sunset, we served a signature cocktail using Applejack,  a classic American brandy made from apples. So for today's post, I found a cocktail featuring Applejack again, the Jack Rose Cocktail. If I weren't tee-totaling (one month til baby #2!), I'd be mixing these up all weekend!

Laird and Company is the oldest applejack distillery in the US (like, since the 1600's) and is, as far as I know, still the only producer of it. Honestly, Marisa and I always wish it tasted even more like apples than it does...but it is slightly sweet and appley for brandy. And now that autumn has arrived, it seems a fitting ingredient to mix a cocktail with this weekend, whether you have something specific to celebrate or not. Celebrate the apples themselves and whip up some of these super simple cocktails!

Find a printable recipe card here.

Happy Autumn and Happy Weekend!

(cocktail photos, jamie grill photography; wedding photos by my dad, Tom Grill)