Whatever apple brandy you choose, in honor of my favorite season, I've created a great recipe to straddle the divide between warm days and cool nights: a recipe suitable for a scarf or not, increasing your knowledge and healthfulness while indulging your senses.

Ingredients

    • 1 ounce apple brandy
    • 1 ounce El Dorado five-year-old Demerara dark rum
    • ½ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
    • ½ ounce rich honey syrup (two parts honey dissolved in one part water; I used amaretto honey)
    • sage leaf

Combine ingredients except for sage leaf and shake with ice until you achieve your desired dilution. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh sage leaf.

To read Derek's story about his love affair with apple brandy, click here.