The Perfect Bonfire Cocktail...The Toffee-Appletini
The 5th November is an assault on the senses; crunching leaves under foot, excited children running around the bonfire and not forgetting the sweet nostalgia of cinder toffee. The smoky coldness of the night hits the back of the throat and you grab your lapels and wrap your coat tighter around you.
Fireworks night, Bonfire Night, call it what you will, is a uniquely British celebration that fills the night sky with bright bursts and flashes in order for us to remember, remember (remember) the 5th November. 5th November 1605 when a group of men planned and plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. They didn’t succeed, but still we remember with whizzbangs, flashes and whistles.
Fireworks makes sense on such a night but what about the food?
The most popular fireside refreshment must be the toffee-apple. We remember that delicious crunch before the bite reveals the dewy sweetness of the fruit. Apples are in season at this time of year and I am sure we have a few left over from apple bobbing at Hallowe’en.
Maybe the toffee-apple has another more sinister purpose – to remind us of those who were killed for attempted regicide.
Eight men were executed, the last of which was Guy Fawkes. Once hanged, his head was taken and put on a stake at the entrance to the City of London on London Bridge.
To ensure that the heads lasted long enough to be seen by as many people as possible, they par boiled the heads, dipped them in tar and then placed them on a stake.
Sounds a bit like a toffee coated apple on stuck on a wooden stick doesn’t it!?!
Despite the gory origins of this delicious fireworks snack if you love a toffee-apple but want it in liquid form why not try our recipe for the Toffee-Appletini. We think it’s the perfect bonfire night tipple.
What You Will Need
50ml Apple Liqueur
25ml Toffee Liqueur
25ml Vodka
1 slice of fresh apple
Half a lemon
Method
Chill a martini glass in the freezer
Cut a slice of fresh apple and rub each side of the slice with a cut half a lemon (this prevents the apple slice browning in your drink)
Pour into a cocktail shaker the apple liqueur, the toffee liqueur, the vodka
Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 20 seconds
Strain into your chilled martini glass
Carefully float your apple slice in your glass
Enjoy!