Happy Samhain! Happy Witches New Year!
Hope you’re getting your bonfires ready or at least a nice smelling candle to welcome in the dark part of the year. I know for me during this time of year I need to work on finding joy in other places beside the sun. I’m a summer baby and a Leo so when the sun begins retreating I too feel myself sinking back and wanting to spend a little extra time in bed or binge watching spooky shows. Using this restorative energy to rest, reflect and see what I want to bring with me after Yule and what I want to shed and let go of.
This is the time in which summer has ended and the veil between this plane of reality and the plane of the spirits become thin. Now is the time to honor those that have left us, people and animals alike, whether recently or a long time ago. Traditions were to leave food out for the spirits visiting, either leaving your doors and windows open welcoming them into your home, or outside as an offering.
Fall flavors help me find joy in darker places. I know this time seems to be all about pumpkin spice everything (I’m looking at you Trader Joes!) but I think apples deserve their rightful place as the quintessential Fall flavor. Apples have a long standing connection with Pagans and other practices. Cut one crosswise and you’ll see the 5 points or pentagram of seeds inside. Apples are a symbol of life and immortality.
Another amazing fall flavor that has its own history related to the wintertime is pomegranate. Most notably the story of Persephone. Pomegranates are a powerful symbol of the world within, often associated with fertility as well as the world around us. It is a powerful reminder of the abundance of gifts and magic that exists in the world unseen. Pomegranates are also very healing with lots of antioxidants, vitamins and disease preventing nutrients.
Cloves are a part of the “all spice” so often used around this time of year. Cloves are believed to banish evil, clear your head, protect, find love, and attract money. Cloves have also been used in many ways to bring relief from many types of pain. So with this we single out this magic spice and combine it with our pomegranate.
Now to the cocktail: Apple Goddess
2 oz of clear spirit (I used vodka just to make sure the flavors were balanced but I think it’d be fun with gin or tequila as well)
1 oz fresh apple juice
.75 oz of a pomegranate tea/clove syrup* (pomegranate juice would do just fine)
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz of a red bitter amaro (Campari, Aperol, etc.)
shake with ice and strain into your preferred drinking vessel
grate fresh cinnamon on top or use ground and sprinkle some on top
*Make a cup of pomegranate white tea. Once it’s brewed (at least a few minutes) remove the tea bag and add some whole cloves (ground works too). Now however much tea you’ve made add the same amount of sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool so the clove does its magic. Once cooled, strain out the clove and keep in the fridge.
This is the tea I used, but there are tons of Pomegranate White Teas out there! Pick your favorite!
This syrup can be used as an addition to other cocktails as well. You can spice up your vodka/soda or gin/tonic with about .5 oz of this syrup. The tea component makes it come out a little less sweet so for those folks that don’t like a sweet cocktail, not to worry! Replace the cranberry juice and some of the triple sec in your next cosmopolitan martini. You can also add it into a mulled wine or spiced cider to make a new variation on traditional holiday drinks.
If you don’t have fresh apple juice you’re welcome to use Mott’s or any other standard apple juice, but I would recommend lessening the syrup or using pomegranate juice instead as it tends to be less sweet.
