Pommeau is traditionally a French drink made by blending apple juice with calvados (apple brandy) and aging it. But, why can’t we make pommeau with other spirits, especially spirits made from what is local. If you live in the Southwestern United States, specifically Arizona, that local spirit would be tequila. Arizona Pommeau is the result of combining the flavors of the classic Southwestern drink, a margarita, with locally pressed apples.
Given my original plan was to make an ice cider, I had already clarified and started the freeze concentrating process with the apple juice. Instead of fermenting it, I decided to mix it with some organic tequila and some orange and lemon liqueurs. That would give me the classic lemon and lime of a margarita but with the concentrated sugars and acids of my apple juice. This also reduces my loss of expensive ingredients because everything has low sediment.
If you have read many of my articles, you know that I advocate for using apple peels during the fermentation to enhance the phenolic compounds in your cider. However, you can also add these during the aging process to enable similar results. The alcohol will leach the phenolic compounds from the peels into the cider. I decided to add Arkansas Black apple peels to this pommeau during the initial aging process. I added a bottle of organic tequila along with a small amount of lemon and oranges liqueurs to a keg with the freeze concentrated apple juice and peel. The results is a beverage around 14% AB with awesome color, notes of apple, and a classic margarita finish. This recipe will create about 1 gallon (3.8L) of pommeau that will be perfect to sip on a hot summer day or even with your favorite tacos. I consider it a dessert cider, so try some with churros or flan. It is a versatile beverage. It will also age well so don’t be afraid to put some away for a few years.
Here’s a link to the recipe as well as the Prickly Cider recipe page where I list many of my recipes.
If you are looking for other cider and food recipes, check out my book, The Art & Science of Cider. It’s a great resource and guide for developing your cider making process. You can find it globally at the following links.
United States Links
United Kingdom Links
Other Country Links
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