Clear, dry kirschwasser brings bitter almond and cherry stone, and sour apple liqueur adds a bright green tang. Stirred over ice, the two make a short, sharp drink for the end of a long day.
1¼ oz
kirschwassere.g. Schladerer · Etter · Scheibel
1¼ oz
sour apple liqueure.g. DeKuyper · Pucker · Berentzen · Bols
¼ oz
lemon juice optional, for a drier finish (optional)
Garnish: Thin apple slice · Ice: Ice cubes
Apple-Kneel
Tart green apple up front, then the dry, marzipan-like warmth of cherry brandy. Sweet and sour at once, and fairly strong.
The Apple-Kneel is a modern home-bar creation rather than a historic cocktail. Nobody knows who first mixed it, and the playful name, a pun on "apple", gives no reliable clue to its origin.
It combines two very different traditions. Kirschwasser is a dry, unsweetened cherry brandy distilled from fermented cherries, including their stones, and made especially in the Black Forest, Switzerland and Alsace. Sour apple liqueurs are sweet, tart and brightly coloured products that became popular in bars in the late 1990s and 2000s. Stirred together in equal parts, the dry brandy and the sweet liqueur keep each other in check.
A clear, unsweetened brandy distilled from fermented cherries, traditionally from the Black Forest, Switzerland and Alsace.
Both work. On the rocks it softens with dilution; neat it is more intense.
Around 25% ABV on ice, since kirschwasser is usually around 40% and apple liqueurs around 15 to 20%.
The perfect sound
Apple scented elegance from the roaring twenties.
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