Green & Black Cocktail and Irish Whiskey-Glazed Spiced Nuts
A whiskey cocktail wonderfully balanced with the dry Amontillado sherry, tart green apple, and burnt sugar syrup; a perfect pair to the sweet and spicy homemade nut mix.
Servings
1cocktail
Servings
1cocktail
Ingredients
For the cocktail
For the burnt sugar syrup
For the spiced nuts
Instructions
For the burnt sugar syrup
  1. Add the sugar to a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, until the edges begin to turn an amber color.
  2. Add the water. Careful, as the sugar will splatter and bubble fiercely. At first, the sugar will seize up and become firm. As it continues to heat, however, it will slowly start to melt back down to a syrup. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 mins. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator
For the cocktail
  1. Using a juicer, extract the fresh juice from a green granny smith apple. If you’d like to preserve the color, once juiced, immediately stir in a teaspoon of lemon juice. If you prefer to use store bought apple juice, I suggest using unfiltered apple cider, and adjusting for their sweetness. It will be much sweeter than the tart green apple juice, so you’ll want to add extra lemon juice for balance.
  2. Add the whiskey, sherry, apple juice, lemon juice, and syrup to a shaker. Fill with ice and vigorously shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a fan of green apple slices.
For the spiced nuts
  1. Stir together the granulated sugar, salt, cayenne, and cloves in a medium bowl and set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine the whiskey, butter, vanilla, and brown sugar over medium high heat. Whisk constantly until boiling. Add pecans, almonds, peanuts, and hazelnuts and continue to stir constantly until nuts are shiny and most of the liquid glaze has evaporated; about 2 minutes.
  3. Transfer the nuts into the bowl with the spice mix and toss well to coat. Pour the warm nut mix onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and arrange in a single layer to cool. Serve and pair with a glass of Jameson Caskmates.