Hot apple cider is good all on its own but my Spiked Hot Apple Cider recipe takes the traditional version to a whole other level. Who knew adding Fireball whiskey to hot apple cider would be this much of a game-changer!

Happy September to you! Is anyone else in complete disbelief that we are already in the month of September? I feel like I snapped my fingers back in March and here we are in Back to School mode with summer quickly becoming a distant memory.

It’s kind of a weird feeling in my opinion. Back in March when the country flipped upside down, I was struggling to find my “new” normal. As the weeks and months progressed, I finally got into a groove only for things to change once again with Back to School and this new way of life.

I never realized how much I didn’t like change until all this craziness happened. I thrive off of consistency so when the rug is pulled from underneath me I tend to lose my mojo! I completely lack motivation and the simplest tasks make me feel like I’m literally having to move mountains.

To try and get my booty in gear, I started a Thirsty Thursday cocktail series on the blog back in April. It’s been a huge motivator for me and has helped me stay focused on my blog each and every week. Last week, I ended up finishing my summer-inspired cocktails with a delicious white peach sangria for one.

I could’ve ended the series completely now that the seasons are changing, but I opted to keep moving forward with my Thirsty Thursday cocktails for a couple of reasons.

For starters, people are relying on me at this point to give them a weekly cocktail recipe to try. One of my biggest personality strengths is that if I know someone expects something from me I will show up and give them 1,000 percent. That’s just my nature!
Secondly, I enjoy the challenge of creating weekly cocktails for everyone and it pushes me to use my creative juices. I need the motivation to stay focused and on top of things especially now that the holiday season is right around the corner.

Once I came to the conclusion that Thirsty Thursday wasn’t going away, I slightly started to panic because I don’t have a huge arsenal of fall-inspired drinks to work with. Living in Florida, we really don’t have a typical fall so it’s rather hard to get into that sweater weather mindset. But again, if I make a promise to someone that I’m going to do something I make sure to hold up my end of the bargain.

To ease into creating fall-inspired alcoholic beverages, I opted to build off of a fall drink I already have here on the blog. My hot apple cider recipe was the first drink recipe I ever added here all the way back in 2017. The recipe is so simple too. You pour store-bought apple cider into a crockpot along with some cinnamon sticks and let it heat up.

To make that recipe for hot apple cider even more delicious, I thought it would be awesome to spike it with whiskey. Hot apple cider with Fireball whiskey is mindblowing, let me tell you! The sweet cinnamon flavors of the Fireball whiskey pair amazingly with the warm apple cider. Do I dare say it might pair too well because you can barely taste the whiskey inside of it. That’s my official warning to drink responsibly, friend! This stuff sure goes down easy.

The best part of this recipe is it will technically work for everyone in your family and all your friends if you happen to be sharing it at a gathering. The reason I say this is because you are technically just making my original hot apple cider recipe and then individually adding shots of Fireball whiskey after.

You can serve everyone a piping hot mug of apple cider and then add the whiskey to those who are looking for that extra kick. It really doesn’t get much easier than that. Am I right?

Spiked Hot Apple Cider

1/2 gallon of apple cider (I used store-bought), 2 – 3 cinnamon sticks (more if using for garnish), 1 and 1/2 ounce of Fireball whiskey

Begin by pouring your apple cider into a crockpot. You can also use a pot on the stove if you don’t have a crockpot available.

Add your cinnamon sticks to the apple cider and allow it to heat up completely. In my crockpot, this took about 2 hours on high. The process will be much faster if you do it on the stovetop instead.

Once the apple cider comes to temperature, put your crockpot on warm. You can technically keep it like this all day long and let it simmer away.

When you’re ready to serve, fill your mug leaving a little room on top for your Fireball whiskey. I added 1 ½ oz to each mug of hot apple cider for the perfect kick!

This Spiked Hot Apple Cider is a great fall cocktail to sip on all season long. Although it might still be 90 plus degrees and full summer mode here in Florida, I must admit that this hot apple cider spiked with Fireball really put me in an autumn mindset. Go ahead and try it for yourself!

Tequila Thursday Cocktails

Thirsty Thursday

Spiked Hot Apple Cider

Name: Spiked Hot Apple Cider
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Drinks
Ingredients: 1/2 gallon of apple cider (I used store-bought), 2 - 3 cinnamon sticks (more if using for garnish), Fireball whiskey

Yield: 8 cups Spiked Hot Apple Cider

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 gallon of apple cider (I used store-bought), 2 - 3 cinnamon sticks (more if using for garnish), Fireball whiskey

Instructions

Begin by pouring your apple cider into a crockpot.
Add your cinnamon sticks to the apple cider and allow it to heat up completely. In my crockpot, this took about 2 hours on high.
The process will be much faster if you do it on the stovetop instead.
Once the apple cider comes to temperature, put your crockpot on warm. You can technically keep it like this all day long and let it simmer away.
When you’re ready to serve, fill your mug leaving a little room on top for your Fireball whiskey. I added 1 ½ ounce to each mug of hot apple cider for the perfect kick!