Sweet Tea Sparkling Apple Cider is the best fall/Thanksgiving cocktail! With just 6 ingredients, it's easy to make and full of festive fall flavors!
Happy almost-Thanksgiving week! Do you have your menu set? Are you getting together with family or having a Friendsgiving? Either way – here’s a sweet and oh-so-pretty cocktail that would be lovely for your turkey day.
This one couldn’t be easier: mix apple cider with iced tea, let it chill for about 2 hours with diced apples, cinnamon sticks and star anise. When your guests arrive, pull it out of the fridge and serve with sparkling wine. That’s it!
Sweet Tea Sparkling Apple Cider
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Serves: serves 8
Ingredients
- 32 oz. apple cider or apple juice
- 18 oz. sweet or unsweet black iced tea (such as Pure Leaf)
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 5 star anise
- 2 small apples, diced
- 1 bottle of sparkling wine*
Instructions
- Fill a large pitcher with the apple cider, sweet tea, cinnamon, star anise and apples. Stir and chill for 2 hours. Pour into champagne flutes, filling each ½ full. Top off with sparkling wine.
Notes
*I recommend choosing a sparkling wine that's more dry than fruity since this cocktail is pretty sweet already.
For a more mulled flavor, you can simmer the spices with the apple juice and the tea. Chill, and continue the recipe.
For a more mulled flavor, you can simmer the spices with the apple juice and the tea. Chill, and continue the recipe.
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Sounds great! Can you add the sparkling wine when you are mixing the other ingredients, or is it necessary to add the wine when topping off the drinks? Also, is prosecco a good wine choice?
Hi Kate, you could mix it all together but, since it’s fizzy, I like to top it at the end.
I think I’ll make a pitcher of this for the kiddos on Thanksgiving and also a pitcher for the adults with some rum in it!
Thanks for posting! Bottoms up!
Sounds yummy! cheers!
it seems wonderful i want to drink that it so easy to make and it looks fresh and amazingly goood;)
Love this recipe! Black tea is my go-to caffeine source and sparkling wine is my favorite alcoholic beverage. So obviously, this fall-inspired cocktail appealed to me immediately. I can’t wait to try it out!
Me too 🙂 I hope you enjoy!
Would sparkling juice work, for the kids?
it would! You might want to use unsweet tea to cut back on some of the sweetness.