Moonlight

This is one of the more tart cocktails I've ever had. 2 oz. of lemon juice are mouth-puckeringly sour. If you sit with it a while, though, you start to recognize the sweetness of the apple brandy and see that it isn't so bad. A lot like seeing by moonlight, your senses have to adjust.

This is the first cocktail I've made with a new product from Laird's distillery--Applejack 86. The label states that the spirit is 100-percent apple brandy. The "applejack" appellation works to make the spirit more folksy and more like the ever-popular whiskey. Brandy is not a spirit that's in favor right now, so that makes sense. This was an easy cocktail to make, but not a great introduction to apple brandy.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice.