Chappy Hour: A Whiskey Apple Cocktail + Our Familiar Hunger

The featured poem from this month’s Chappy Hour selection – Laisha Rosnau’s Our Familiar Hunger (Nightwood Editions) – is about a woman crossing the Atlantic Ocean, from the Ukraine to her new home on the Canadian Prairies. The poet imagines the apples that this woman might have packed and shared with her new neighbours.It’s been a cold, cold April. I wanted to incorporate the apple into a warm cocktail. It seemed only natural to combine it with a Prairie-born Whiskey; but any Canadian whiskey will be nice.A touch of Canadian maple makes it just perfect. 

The Cocktail

(Plain text follows)

What You Need:2 cups fresh apple cider1/4 cup whiskey2 tablespoons real maple syrup1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Instructions:In a medium size saucepot over low heat, or in a slow cooker set to low, combine all ingredients and stir.Ladle into cups and serve warm, not hot.Recipe can easily be multiplied to serve a large crowd. Omit the whiskey/bourbon for a mocktail version.

The Book

Set down that bourbon for a moment to bite into the longer excerpt of Rosnau’s collection (clicking will begin a PDF download), and then check out the whole book, here.* * *You can read more Chappy Hour poems and drinks, here.