Seedlip Cinnamon Apple

It’s fall! And Sober October!

Sober October is a public health campaign in the UK that challenges people to go 31 days without alcohol to raise awareness to the links between alcohol and cancer, and raise funds for cancer patients. How incredible is that? 31 glorious hangover-free days to wake up with a spring in your step and help change lives. The challenge is meant for anyone who wants to become healthier, not just those that might struggle with alcohol.

For many people, drinking becomes an automatic habit, and our brains quickly learn that this or that emotion or situation warrants a drink. Feeling stressed? Our brain says drink. Socializing? Our brain says drink. That is what we taught it from our repetitive actions and patterns. So when I first quit drinking, you can imagine that my brain still told me to drink. And I responded with mocktails, like this fall-inspired cinnamon apple drink. Enjoying crafted mocktails made my transition to an alcohol-free lifestyle so much easier. I didn’t need to completely overhaul my habit of treating myself with a beverage to mark the weekend or relax. Undoing this automatic habit and not drinking alcohol? It would have been too much. No, I simply replaced my drinking ritual with nonalcoholic options, like mocktails, or NA beer. It made the abstinence from alcohol almost negligible, and now, I don’t rely on these drinks in quite the same way. They are in my inventory to be creative and fun. But at the beginning, there were so fundamental and foundational to my first months off the booze. So, point of the story? Don’t stop treating yourself. Just change the treat.

Recipe:

1.5 oz Seedlip Spice

1 tablespoon spiced simple syrup

1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 oz spiced apple cider

Mix all ingredients and a few dashes of aromatic bitters in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake it up! Pour into a beautiful glass. Feel free to skip the Seedlip and add more apple cider.

Spiced simple syrup recipe:

½ cup sugar 

½ cup water 

Spices: cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice.  

Boil water, add sugar and whisk until dissolved. Add spices and mix. Let cool overnight, and strain into a bottle or jar.