Apple Cider Mimosas & Tips for Styling a Signature-Drink Bar

Apple Cider Mimosas are a fall-tastic twist on a classic cocktail, perfect for Thanksgiving or any fall party. I first had these thanks to my friend Ashley. She made them for our book club and I was like, “Why didn’t I think of this?” There’s something so intriguing to the palette when you add apple cider to your cocktails. I’ve done Apple Cider Moscow Mules before and it changes them up in an interesting way as well. So I highly recommend you try adding apple cider to your favorite cocktail. My guess is you can’t go wrong.

This signature cocktail proved an easy addition to any fall party so below I not only provide the recipe for the Apple Cider Mimosas, but I also provide styling tips for setting up a signature-drink bar.

Apple Cider Mimosas

Ingredients

• Champaign
• Apple Cider
• Cinnamon sticks and apple slices (for garnish)
• Cinnamon/Sugar mixture and lime/lemon slice (to rim glasses)

Directions

• To rim glass: rub a lime or lemon slice around the rim of your glass. Then dip your glass into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
• A typical mimosa is half orange juice and half champagne, so here just substitute orange juice with the apple cider. Add more or less apple cider depending on your preferred taste.
• Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a few slices of apple.

Signature-Drink Bar Styling Tips

I like adding your own spin to a cocktail because it instantly creates a “signature” drink. A signature drink is great to serve at a party because of the following:

1. It eliminates the need to offer a full bar. You can simply have wine, beer, and your signature drink.
2. It creates a “theme” for styling your bar. You center the styling around your signature drink, offering all the fixings as well as cute garnishes.
3. It creates an icebreaker. Guests will talk about how yummy the drink is and ask for the recipe.
4. Just the simple thought of offering something different and special in turn makes guests feel special. And isn’t that the point of any party!

On Instagram stories, I went through the process I took in setting up the Apple Cider Mimosa Bar. Below are my styling tips that you can apply to any Signature Bar.

Styling Tips

1. Pick the location for the “bar.” You don’t have to have a bar to create a bar area. Designate a sideboard, kitchen island, or set up a special table.
2. Use trays to display your needed items.  Trays help designate the area as a “bar” and they display your items in a beautiful way. Here I used a tray for the glasses, a tray for the Champagne and Apple Cider and a tray for the garnishes. Pick trays that go with the style of your decor. Here I used vintage stamped aluminum trays because I liked how they brought a cohesive yet eclectic feel to the space.  Other options include: wood trays, wood cutting boards, marble boards, white platters, metal trays, acrylic trays… really the options are endless. Sticking to one finish for all your trays helps bring cohesion, but don’t be afraid to mix and match. Collect what you like and then put them to use whenever you have a party.
3. Pick glasses that work for your cocktail AND fit the “tone” of your party. Here, the tone of my party was a little more casual than classic champagne flutes. So instead, I used a combination of vintage glasses and modern glasses not typically used for mimosas. Yet, they worked perfectly. The lesson here: don’t worry if you are breaking the rules. Do you!
4. Beautifully display your cocktail fixings. For example, don’t just set out the jug of apple cider. Instead, put it in a beautiful pitcher. The same with your garnishes. Put them in pretty glasses so they add to the decor.
5. Add candlelight. Candlelight helps make all spaces feel special. Here I added gold mercury glass votives that again helped add to the casual yet elegant feel.
6. Add seasonal touches. Here I added small apples to not only say “fall” but to emphasize the fact that the drink included apple cider.
7. Add a recipe card, if the drink is complicated. This wasn’t needed for the Apple Cider Mimosas because you simply replace orange juice with apple cider, but more complicated drinks may need instructions.