Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
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Updated on 05/5/21
Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail

The Spruce / S&C Design Studios

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

When warm days turn to chilly nights, add tequila to your fall cocktail line-up. The caramel apple pie is easy to mix up, offering familiar seasonal flavors in one deliciously sweet tequila cocktail you'll want to share with everyone.

In the caramel apple pie recipe, both the blanco and reposado tequilas work very well. However, the barrel-aging flavor from a reposado is a really nice pairing with fresh-pressed or cloudy apple cider which is available around the autumn apple harvest. It's a couple of small differences that give the cocktail a pleasant depth of flavor.

For the rest of the drink, you'll need butterscotch schnapps, apple cider, and just a hint of lemon juice. It comes together wonderfully, creating an apple martini with a sweet kiss of caramel and an underlying flavor that can only come from tequila.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for a Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail
    The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

  2. In a cocktail shaker, pour the tequila, butterscotch schnapps, apple cider, and lemon juice. Fill with ice.

    Mixing a Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail
    The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

  3. Shake well.

    Shaking a Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail
    The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

  4. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

    Straining a Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail
    The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

  5. Garnish with apple slices. Serve and enjoy.

    Tequila Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail
    The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

Tips

  • To make the drink really interesting, look for unfiltered, fresh-pressed apple cider. It tends to have a truer flavor and the cloudy cider adds a nice mouthfeel against the butterscotch. You can typically find it in autumn at apple orchards or a grocer's produce section.
  • For the lemon juice, it's easiest to squeeze the juice of a lemon wedge directly into the shaker. No measuring required as you want just a tart accent.
  • Apple slices like to turn an unpleasant yellow-brown color due to oxidation. To prevent that and keep the garnish looking fresh, dip it in a little lemon juice immediately after cutting it.

Recipe Variations

  • You can certainly replace the tequila with vodka in this recipe if you prefer. Whiskey (particularly bourbon) is a rather interesting substitution as well.
  • Butterscotch sauce or syrup (the kind you'd use on ice cream or caramel apples) can be used instead of the schnapps. It will retain the flavor but knock the drink's potency down a bit.
  • While it doesn't have the depth of flavor as this cocktail, the caramel appletini offers a similar taste. It's easier simply because it requires just two ingredients, so while you have butterscotch schnapps in stock, pick up a bottle of UV Green Apple Vodka and give it a try.

How Strong Is a Caramel Apple Pie?

Compared to other martini-style cocktails, the caramel apple pie is delightfully light on the alcohol. It's not a low-proof drink, necessarily, but at just 18 percent ABV (36 proof), it's a few points lower than the average appletini.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
171 Calories
0g Fat
16g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 171
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 3mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 16g 6%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 13g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 26mg 129%
Calcium 7mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 112mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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