Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Rabbit Hole’s Apple Cinnamon Fashioned: fall flavors

Still a spirit-forward drink

The Rabbit Hole's Apple Cinnamon Fashioned
The Rabbit Hole's Apple Cinnamon Fashioned
Josh Blanton
  • Josh Blanton
  • The Rabbit Hole
  • 3377 Adams Avenue
  • Normal Heights

Feeling festive, I make my way down to The Rabbit Hole in Normal Heights, where they’ve curated a fall-themed drink menu. There, bartender Josh Blanton serves up his Apple Cinnamon Fashioned, a cocktail he created by putting a seasonal spin on a classic recipe. “It’s made with apple brandy, Buffalo Trace, a little bit of agave, three to four dashes of apple bitters, and stirred with a cinnamon stick, over a big ice cube,” he tells me. “And it’s a fan favorite for a good fall drink.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Blanton shares the inspiration behind the recipe, “I wanted to do something with an Old Fashioned for fall. And everyone does typical fall flavors, but I wanted to do something a little different. So I used apple-cinnamon — which is still fall flavors.” The resulting concoction is subtle to the eye, but powerful on the palate. “It’s very spirit forward, but it has a nice sweet kick to it because of the apple bitters and the agave. And the cinnamon gives a nice aroma to it when you drink it.” He is quick to quell any suspicion that the apple flavor might be too tart. “Agave settles that, and so does the cinnamon stick. The bourbon cuts through as well.”

Blanton believes the apple is what sets his drink apart this season. “Not too many people use apple in their fall drinks; it’s usually pumpkin or other flavors. And the apple bitters — I had to search for that one!” He’s too polite to just throw pumpkin spice under the bus, but I prod him until he grants, “I just think it’s been too long, and there are other avenues of fall that we can be expressing.”

Besides the apple autumn innovation, Blanton touts the virtues of Buffalo Trace Bourbon. “It’s from one of the oldest distilleries in the country — it’s actually older than our country! It’s very acclaimed, and Buffalo Trace, coming from them, is a moderately priced bourbon. So I’m a big fan of that.” He describes its flavor as “one of the smoothest bourbons out there for the price. It’s not too oaky, it’s got a nice medium level to it, it’s a nice, drinkable bourbon.”

The Apple Cinnamon Fashioned came about through trial and error. “I was using regular almond bitters, then I tried walnut bitters, different syrups… I was going to make an apple syrup but I thought that would be too overpowering… So, I went with agave. Lots of trips to the drawing board after a couple cocktails, for sure.”

Place

Rabbit Hole

3377 Adams Avenue, San Diego

Blanton grants that his drink “might sound weird at first, but once you have it, it’s a very tasty cocktail.” He cites an Old Fashioned fan who was hesitant about the apple and cinnamon. She found it “intriguing, but kind of off-putting, because she wanted a spirit-forward drink, and she didn’t think this would be. But it is.” Blanton boldly offered to pay for the drink if she didn’t like it. “She tried it and sold three or four to her friends.”

The Rabbit Hole's Apple Cinnamon Fashioned

The Rabbit Hole’s

Apple cinnamon fashioned

  • 1/2 oz. Jim Beam apple brandy
  • 1 1/2 oz. Buffalo Trace bourbon
  • 3 dashes apple bitters
  • 1/4 oz. agave
  • Cinnamon stick
  • Build in the glass over one large ice cube. Serve with a cinnamon stick.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Fix it Clinic, Gaslamp Holiday Pet Parade

Events December 14-December 18, 2024
The Rabbit Hole's Apple Cinnamon Fashioned
The Rabbit Hole's Apple Cinnamon Fashioned
Josh Blanton
  • Josh Blanton
  • The Rabbit Hole
  • 3377 Adams Avenue
  • Normal Heights

Feeling festive, I make my way down to The Rabbit Hole in Normal Heights, where they’ve curated a fall-themed drink menu. There, bartender Josh Blanton serves up his Apple Cinnamon Fashioned, a cocktail he created by putting a seasonal spin on a classic recipe. “It’s made with apple brandy, Buffalo Trace, a little bit of agave, three to four dashes of apple bitters, and stirred with a cinnamon stick, over a big ice cube,” he tells me. “And it’s a fan favorite for a good fall drink.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Blanton shares the inspiration behind the recipe, “I wanted to do something with an Old Fashioned for fall. And everyone does typical fall flavors, but I wanted to do something a little different. So I used apple-cinnamon — which is still fall flavors.” The resulting concoction is subtle to the eye, but powerful on the palate. “It’s very spirit forward, but it has a nice sweet kick to it because of the apple bitters and the agave. And the cinnamon gives a nice aroma to it when you drink it.” He is quick to quell any suspicion that the apple flavor might be too tart. “Agave settles that, and so does the cinnamon stick. The bourbon cuts through as well.”

Blanton believes the apple is what sets his drink apart this season. “Not too many people use apple in their fall drinks; it’s usually pumpkin or other flavors. And the apple bitters — I had to search for that one!” He’s too polite to just throw pumpkin spice under the bus, but I prod him until he grants, “I just think it’s been too long, and there are other avenues of fall that we can be expressing.”

Besides the apple autumn innovation, Blanton touts the virtues of Buffalo Trace Bourbon. “It’s from one of the oldest distilleries in the country — it’s actually older than our country! It’s very acclaimed, and Buffalo Trace, coming from them, is a moderately priced bourbon. So I’m a big fan of that.” He describes its flavor as “one of the smoothest bourbons out there for the price. It’s not too oaky, it’s got a nice medium level to it, it’s a nice, drinkable bourbon.”

The Apple Cinnamon Fashioned came about through trial and error. “I was using regular almond bitters, then I tried walnut bitters, different syrups… I was going to make an apple syrup but I thought that would be too overpowering… So, I went with agave. Lots of trips to the drawing board after a couple cocktails, for sure.”

Place

Rabbit Hole

3377 Adams Avenue, San Diego

Blanton grants that his drink “might sound weird at first, but once you have it, it’s a very tasty cocktail.” He cites an Old Fashioned fan who was hesitant about the apple and cinnamon. She found it “intriguing, but kind of off-putting, because she wanted a spirit-forward drink, and she didn’t think this would be. But it is.” Blanton boldly offered to pay for the drink if she didn’t like it. “She tried it and sold three or four to her friends.”

The Rabbit Hole's Apple Cinnamon Fashioned

The Rabbit Hole’s

Apple cinnamon fashioned

  • 1/2 oz. Jim Beam apple brandy
  • 1 1/2 oz. Buffalo Trace bourbon
  • 3 dashes apple bitters
  • 1/4 oz. agave
  • Cinnamon stick
  • Build in the glass over one large ice cube. Serve with a cinnamon stick.
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

"Christmas Berry" is decorating our landscape, Longest meteor shower of the year

Full "cold moon," extremely high tides
Next Article

Was Reddit ghost sighter hired by Hotel del Coronado?

Parking 1/2 mile away and complaints of vandalism
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader