There is nothing cozier than a soft blanket, cold weather and a warm drink. I came up with this recipe last year as I was prepping my turkey for the oven. I wanted to be able to serve my guests a warm holiday drink, but I wanted it to be enjoyed by everyone, adults, kids, and pregnant moms alike. I also wanted it to stay warm throughout the Thanksgiving meal. I occurred to me that I wouldn’t be using my slow cooker that evening, so that is exactly where I prepared my cider. The best part about this recipe is you can prep it in the slow cooker early in the morning and then forget about it while you prepare the rest of your meal. And what would spiced cider be without a little rum though, right?! I leave the bottle of rum off to the side and let my guests add a bit to their mugs as they serve themselves. Cheers!

I don’t often share drink recipes over here, and I’m not really sure why.  I love coming up with drink recipes, it’s just as fun as cooking and baking, and it’s definitely an art and a skill I’m always trying to master.  Recently, we received a SodaStream as a gift to replace all the bottles of soda and seltzer we were always schlepping home.  After sampling almost every flavor of soda syrup and not being impressed, I wondered if I could make my own syrups.  I love ginger-ale and sprite and wanted to use those two sodas as inspiration.  I boiled a batch of lemon ginger simple syrup and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours. Then I mixed a few tablespoons of my syrup with the soda water, poured it over ice and enjoyed my fresh glass of lemon ginger soda.  Yum!

I could have just stopped there and been a happy camper, but then I thought of my husband and his favorite drink, the whisky sour.  I wondered what would happen if I added some Kentucky straight bourbon whisky to the lemon ginger soda.  Success!  It was more of a whisky sour soda than just a straight cocktail, but my husband polished it off and I knew I had created something exciting and delicious.