Harvest Apple Ginger Spritz.
Kicking off the Thanksgiving cocktails with this Harvest Apple Ginger Spritz. Fresh apple juice combined with vodka, orange liquor, and lemon, along with a sweet honey, ginger, and sage syrup. Mix everything together to create a simple, but super delicious, pitcher style cocktail that will make entertaining this Thanksgiving stress free. When guests arrive, simply top each drink off with sparkling water to add a little fizz. Everyone will love this seasonal and festive cocktail!
Welcome to the first cocktail Saturday of November! Today marks the official start of the “holiday” drinks. I have a lineup of fun and festive cocktails that I’m very exited to share over the next couple of months. And today is just the start! If you have any cocktails you’d like to see this holiday season, leave me a comment (email or DM me on Instagram)!! I have many drinks already planned. But I always try to make room for a couple of last-minute inspirations…as those recipes often tend to end up as personal favorites!!
Alright, so this spritz. It’s deliciously good. Super simple. And pretty much perfect for Thanksgiving. Because it’s a pitcher drink, this means no mixing up of cocktail after cocktail. No, no, no, none of that.
One of my main goals this Thanksgiving is easy, breezy entertaining. Last Thanksgiving was spent back in Cleveland after my Nonnie’s passing. It wasn’t one of my greatest. Especially not being able to work out of my own kitchen. So I’m determined to make this year’s Thanksgiving beyond good. And that means planning make-ahead recipes, and some really dang good cocktails.
To make this spritz, start with the syrup. It’s mix of honey, ginger, and sage. It’s all things sweet and savory, and adds an extra special touch to this drink.
Once you have the syrup, mix that together with vodka, orange liquor, apple juice (be sure to use a good, high quality apple juice or cider), and lemon. Store the spritz in the fridge until ready to serve. I love letting the spritz sit in the fridge a few hours, or even overnight, to really let the ginger and sage flavor the entire drink.
Just before serving add the sparkling water, and done.
I love the zesty orange flavors with the sweet apple and hints of ginger and sage. It’s kind of fancy, just a little sweet, citrusy, and spiced up with ginger. Truly the ultimate fall cocktail that no one can turn down!
If you make this harvest apple ginger spritz please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Harvest Apple Spritz.
Fresh apple juice combined with vodka, orange liquor, and lemon, along with a sweet honey, ginger, and sage syrup. Mix everything together to create a simple, but super delicious, pitcher style cocktail that will make entertaining this Thanksgiving stress free.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 inch fresh ginger,
- 6 fresh sage leaves, plus more for serving
- 8 ounces vodka
- 4 ounces orange liquor
- 1 1/2 cups high quality apple juice or apple cider
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4-6 cans (12 ounces) sparkling water
- orange zest and apple slices, for serving
Instructions
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1. In a small pot, bring 1/2 cup water, the honey, and ginger, to a boil over high heat. Boil 5 minutes, add the sage, then remove from the heat. Let cool. Remove the sage and ginger, if desired.
2. In a large pitcher, combine the sage, ginger syrup mix, vodka, orange liquor, apple juice, and lemon juice. Chill until ready to serve.
3. Add the sparkling water just before serving. Garnish each drink with an apple slice and orange zest, if desired.
Our Favorite Recipes
Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Dates and Halloumi.
This looks perfect, and delicious for this time of year even here in the UK where we don’t have thanksgiving! May try a gin version this weekend as I have everything for this *except* vodka in the house!
I hope you love this Rachel! Let me know how it goes with gin!!
Wishing you the BEST Thanksgiving this year xx
Thank you Liz!
Ooh my Mom LOVES ginger, I must make this for her!!
Rebecca | http://www.peppermintdolly.com
I hope you do and I hope she loves it! Thank you so much Rebecca!
Oooh this sounds so yummy!! Question: How long will the sage ginger syrup keep if I make it in advance?
Hey Autumn! The syrup will keep for 1 week, possibly even longer! Just keep in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
thanks for to share
Thank you!
This looks really good.
Do you have any suggestions on how to make this non-alcoholic? Would that even be possible?
Thanks!
HI! I recommend using an additional cup of apple cider and a 1/2 cup of orange juice in replace of the alcohol. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I can’t wait to make this cocktail! My family is coming to our new house for Thanksgiving and this recipe is perfect since I can make it ahead of time.
Yes! I hope they all love this when you make it Louise! Thank you!
Delicious! I missed the bit about adding sage at the end of making the syrup and tossed it all together from the start, along with using about 1/3rd of a lemon )juiced and boiled in the same syrup), but it came out really delicious. (The syrup this way is also delicious as sweetener for tea!) It ended up a touch sweet for my household’s palates, I think next time I’ll decrease the honey and add a bit of fruit to poach in the syrup, maybe apples or pears. That should lend a sweet aspect to it with less overt sweetness. That, or using a dry fermented cider rather than fresh apple cider might work too.
Thank you so much Jami! I am so glad you loved this drink and it turned out well for you!
great cocktail with a creative use of ingredients, love the honey-ginger combo with the apple cider
Thank you so much Sabrina!
This drink looks interesting…I will try to use it this year for my Thanksgiving dinner menu. By the way, I made your Snickers cake with the caramel apples on top a couple weeks ago….wow- it was great. Everything worked out well, except that the caramel wouldn’t stick to the apples I put on top of the cake. I did wash them before dipping but almost all of the caramel ran off the bottom. It was frustrating, but the cake looked and tasted great nevertheless. Everyone was impressed! BTW, you have beautiful photography on your website. Glad I found your recipes!
Hi Lisa! This is so sweet, I am so glad you are loving my blog and recipes! I hope this turns out amazing for you on Thanksgiving! Let me know how it goes! Thank you!
Should you use fresh sage or will dried work?
I recommend using fresh sage. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Hi! Have you ever replaced the sparkling water for ginger beer? Would that still work? Trying to really pack the *Punch* in this punch! Thanks!
LOVE ginger beer and yes I have swapped it many time. Delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
This drink was a slam dunk!! Our whole family loved it and is a special request for Thanksgiving. I quadrupled the batch and made it in a pitcher – it was gone SO fast!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you!
Made this for a Thanksgiving cocktail. Fun to put together. Everyone loved it! Thanks so much for your creativity!
Hi Beth! I am so glad you enjoyed this cocktail! Thank you so much!
Could you give a recipe to make this an individual drink
Hi Melissa! It converts to very weird measurements, but I will leave it below! xTieghan
0.03 cup honey
0.13 inch fresh ginger,
0.75 fresh sage leaves, plus more for serving
1 ounces vodka
0.5 ounces orange liquor
0.19 cups high quality apple juice or apple cider
0.03 cup fresh lemon juice
0.5-0.75 cans (12 ounces) sparkling water
orange zest and apple slices, for serving
Ginger spritz apples you concocted very tasty and attractive. I will learn this recipe from you.
I am glad you like this! Thanks! xTieghan
Focus on what you are doing and promote them to the best. Your article is great for promoting good information.
Thank you! xTieghan
I can’t stop making your recipes even when I try to… I forced myself to google a sage ginger apple cider cocktail recipe instead of looking here first and guess where my google search took me lol. I love you and your recipes so much. Can’t wait to try this!
Yes!! So happy you have been loving my recipes, Kate! I hope you love this as well! Thank you! xTieghan
This drink recipe sounds yummy. But your recipe states the apple juice before the cider so I assume that juice was your preference but in all the comments and replies “cider” was used. They are two very different things. Was wondering which one do YOU use when making this. Want to try this for Thanksgiving this year.
Hi Dawn! I personally prefer the cider, but I know many cannot find it so I give the option for apple juice as well! I hope you love this one! xTieghan
The taste was pleasant, but I’m wondering if I misinterpreted the instructions for sparkling water. We all felt like we were drinking a light apple soda????? I put in 48 oz of sparkling water, and am wondering if it was supposed to be 12oz total. Maybe my cider was too weak….not sure. Again, we all enjoyed it but were expecting more.
Hi Jeri! No, you were correct! I am sorry this did not turn out well for you.. Is there anything I can help with? xTieghan
Loved this! Seeing how 2020 went, my 2021 NY resolution is learn to make cocktails (i.e. drink more) and this was my first attempt. It was light and refreshing and not too sweet. I think a pitcher of this would be great on the patio on a hot summer day.
Hey Justyna,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy New Year! xTieghan