Apple Cider Mimosa
When everyone is clamoring for everything pumpkin spice, don't forget about the unsung hero of fall brunches: the apple cider mimosa. This sparkling drink is the bridge between "let's celebrate" and "let's unwind," no special occasion required (we'll show you how to make it without killing a giant bottle of champagne)!
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance: Apple Cider Mimosa
- 🕰️ Prep Time: 1 minutes
- 🍎 Flavor Profile: Tart, bubbly champagne with naturally sweet apple cider.
- 🍁 Good For: Raising a glass to crisp weather and crunchy leaves, serving with Halloween party snacks, or fall brunches.
- 🧡 Difficulty: Just pour-and-go!
"I like mimosas with apple juice or cider MUCH better than the orange juice version!"
- MOLLIE -
Summarize and Save this Recipe Using:
🧡 Why You'll Love This Recipe
I'm all about the Apple Cider MIMOSA. It's fancy enough for a brunch table, but easy enough to pop the cork on a bottle of champagne on a totally random Thursday evening. One sip in, and you'll never go back to orange juice mimosas again. Life is too short to wait for special occasions. Drink these mimosas now!
Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- Why mess with perfection: Two ingredients, one magic combo. If you can open a bottle and pour, you're already halfway there.
- Suitable for any occasion: Mix these up on a weeknight or make several for a fall brunch (they'd be great with our pumpkin waffles recipe) or Halloween party. Everyone loves a mimosa!
🍾 The Ingredients You Need
- Champagne: Don't think you can get through an entire bottle of champagne tonight? There are itty bitty bottles of champagne that you can get at your local grocery store. They are the perfect size for when you want something fizzy, but don't want to commit to a full bottle.
- Apple cider: Ideally, you'd head over to the local apple orchard for fresh, unfiltered apple cider. That's where the real magic of this cocktail comes from-unsweetened fresh cider is cloudy, a bit tart, and if you close your eyes, you can imagine you're right back among the apple trees. The flavor of this cider is so much better, and it works beautifully in this and other cocktails like my apple cider sangria or apple cider hot toddy, as well as in my apple spinach smoothie!
Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, along with quantities and my expert tips and tricks.
🔁 Variations & Substitutions
- Brown sugar rim: If you want to add a little razzmatazz, you can rim your champagne glasses with a little bit of brown sugar, and garnish the whole thing with a slice of apple. Just make sure to treat the apple in lemon juice or fruit preserver (Ball makes a good one) before garnishing to avoid it going brown on you. The brown sugar is like a little sparkly halo on your glass when it catches the light...and it tastes as good as it looks.
- Apple brandy or apple jack: For even more apple flavor and a bit more of a kick, add an ounce of apple brandy or apple jack to the glass before adding your champagne.
- Caramel apple mimosa: As suggested by reader Nancy, swirl the rim of the glass in caramel, followed by cinnamon sugar, for a caramel apple mimosa. It's the cocktail version of going to the county fair-sweet caramel + crisp apple, but with a little champagne sparkle added. Double the fun by serving these with homemade caramel apples!
🥣 How to Make an Apple Cider Mimosa
Step 1: Start by pouring apple cider into your champagne flute-it's the backbone of the cocktail. If you're using apple brandy or apple jack, add that now too.
Step 2: Top with a little bubbly (i.e.: champagne) and watch it fizz. If you're feeling a little extra, add a brown sugar rim (running a slice of apple around the edge of the glass will help it stick) and garnish with an apple slice. Serve immediately.
🙋🏻♀️ Apple Cider Mimosa FAQs
Obviously, we're fans of putting cider with champagne or we wouldn't be here. Apple jack or apple brandy will add even more apple flavor. But really, cider is a character that plays well with others-we've paired it with red wine for an apple cider sangria, bourbon in our spiked apple cider, and rosé and brandy for an rosé wine sangria recipe.
You can, but because most apple juice is sweetened, your drink will be sweeter and dull the cocktail's sparkle. Fresh cider will give you that tart fizz that makes it feel like you're toasting to fall.
👩🏻🍳 My Expert Tips & Tricks
- Tiny things are cute: Mini champagne bottles are my family's go-to. They make any night suitable for a celebration without having to down a bunch of alcohol.
- Keep it fresh: Stick with fresh, unsweetened apple cider if you can. Your mimosa will be so much more crisp and refreshing!
- Make it fancy: Take an extra minute and two extra ingredients to fancy up a mimosa with a brown sugar rim and an apple slice garnish. That tiny extra effort has a big payoff in both flavor and appearance!
Want to save this recipe?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
🍎 More Apple Cider Recipes
If you tried this apple cider mimosa or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Apple Cider Mimosa
Ingredients
- 3 ounces apple cider
- 3 ounces champagne
- 1 ounce apple brandy or apple jack optional
- Brown sugar and apple slices for garnish optional
Instructions
- Pour the apple cider into a champagne flute, followed by the champagne. Serve immediately!
Notes
- Add the apple jack or apple brandy when you add the apple cider, if you'd like to make it a bit more boozy.
- Mini bottles of champagne are great for when you just want to make a single mimosa or two.
-
- If you'd like to rim and garnish the drink, take a thin apple slice (that has been treated with either lemon juice or fruit preserver to prevent browning), and make a ½" slice in the middle. Slide the apple slice onto the rim of the glass, and run around rim to dampen. Remove the apple slice, then dip the rim of the glass in a shallow bowl of brown sugar. Place the apple slice back on the edge of the glass, then fill with drink.
Who would think such a simple recipe could be so good? I particularly like it with the shot of apple brandy for even more apple flavor!
We rimmed our glasses by dipping in caramel then cinnamon sugar...dessert!
Ooh, that sounds delicious!
Could I do this with sparkling cider or do you think it won't be right?
Rachel did you ever try it with sparkling cider? I'm curious about this as well
This looks delicious! Making these for my event this weekend 🙂
This looks wonderful; I feel like it is such a better option than orange juice! I added this cocktail to my post this week "10 Must-Try Fall Cocktails", please feel free to check it out : http://livelovedrinkwine.com/10-must-try-fall-cocktails/ Thank you for the inspiration
I had a version of this beverage at a restaurant this weekend - delicious!
I like mimosas with apple juice or cider MUCH better than the orange juice version! Learned that at a resort in the Dominican Republic. We were down there for a wedding and the waiters kept the mimosas coming!
Whoa, great idea!! We were married in Punta Cana. LOVED their champagne.!! They FILLED our Tervis with mimosa for our early morning beach walks!
Ha - I posted about apple cidercars today. Great minds ... : ) Also, I'm definitely pinning this for my next brunch. Yum!