Washington Apple Shot

The Washington Apple Shot is a sweet, fruity and straightforward shooter. While apple is front and center in the name, the shot is actually a fantastic combo of apple liqueur and cranberry juice, twisting the two sweet-tart fruits into a lip-puckering, delicious hit, all backed up by punchy Canadian whisky.

Like many multi-ingredient shots, this one can end up drastically sweet if you aren’t careful with your choice of ingredients and ratios. Crown Royal traditionally serves as the base. And the velvet-bagged booze is a safe choice, but you should feel free to swap in your preferred Canadian whiskey, as long as you stick to the bold ryes the country is known for (the spice helps cut the sweetness of the other ingredients and gives the shot its intended kick). You might some recipes list “apple schnapps,” spelled with two “p’s.” These schnapps are actually more of a sweet liqueur, rather than the dry German version spelled with one “p.” Stick to apple liqueur (both countries make both products, so just confirm you’re buying a sweetened version regardless of country of origin) but choose a high quality bottling if you can find one. We used Schoenauer Apfel Schnapps, which brings the wonderful, natural sweetness of red apples to the shot, but you could also use a liqueur based on green apples, like the one made by Giffard, for a slightly tarter shot.

You may also see the shot made with equal parts of all ingredients, but we found this preparation to be too cranberry-heavy (it’s not called the Washington Cranberry Shot, after all). Upping the apple and lowering the cranberry balances out the shot nicely and makes it easy to taste all of the components, even as you shoot it down quickly—though this is one fruity shot we’d happily sip slowly.