Jacking It, and by It, I mean Cider

I made Applejack from cider I laid down 3 years ago from local SW Washington fruit. Its destination is a Jack Rose cocktail (included below).

These days, Applejack is basically Apple Brandy distilled from cider (Lairds Bottled in Bond is the best), but it started back in the olden times being “jacked” from cider by leaving the barrels outside in the winter and skimming off the ice. Each freeze would remove water and leave behind alcohol and tailings.

Over the past month, I used the same mug I use for making clear ice to deep freeze, top down, an 8-pack of leftover apple-marionberry cider (thus the color). Each day, I took the frozen slush, dumped it into a shaker, and strained it using a Hawthorne strainer with a tight coil. It took about 4 days per 16 oz to get it down to where it would no longer freeze, about 2 oz remaining each time. A final trip through a coffee strainer removed remaining sediment from the collected product.

That process resulted in 375ml of rocket fuel you see here. A a final test, I tried freezing it one last time. As every child that tried to replace a tipple with water in their parents’ freezer vodka has learned, high enough ABV stops freezing. This one didn’t even have ice crystals after 48 hours. Tastes like a strong liqueur. Hoping I got it above 35%.

The destination cocktail is a grenadine-lemon-applejack combo, the Jack Rose. Have some leftover cider of your own? Give it a shot. Toast the pilgrims as you tip one back!

1. 1 1/2 oz Applejack (Lairds Bottled in Bond or homemade, adjust based on ABV)
2. 1/2 oz Homemade Grenadine (Morgenthaler recipe)
3. 3/4 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coup

Garnish with a lemon wheel

Drip Cup for Cast Iron Juicers

Hamilton Beach manual citrus juicers have a handy drip cup that swings out when you put a cup under the juicer, and it swings back into place when you remove your juice. Without this, the dripping juice left in the metal funnel can get all over your bar top, counter, or cutting board. If you have a generic cast iron juicer that doesn't have an attached drip cup, what is an enterprising bartender to do?

Print this thing I added to Thingiverse, of course!

The mechanism uses a rubber band of the right tension to return the cup to its initial position. As you push the cup to the side, guides slide the cup out of the way. The strength of the rubber band should be tuned to be light enough to not push over your juice cup nestled between the loving cast-iron arms of the juicer. When you remove your freshly squeezed juice, the rubber band slides the drip cup back into place. Et voila!

You'll need a rubber band, a conical shot glass (the smaller the better), and an M3 set screw. You will also need a set of hex keys to disassemble the juicer base to get the Shaft sleeve on.

Enjoy your drip-free juicer! Here are some prototype and action shots: