Sage Advice  

"Today officially marks the first day of Fall (your mileage may vary as to whether or not it actually feels like Fall, depending on where you live). Time to buckle up for the barrage of pumpkin, apple, and other oriented drinks over the next couple of months. And what’s that—speaking of apple here’s one right off the bat!      May as well start it off with a drink that bridges the gap between the current season and the summer that preceded it. So nothing overly heavy—rather, this is a relatively light apple-focused drink that balances its refreshing qualities with baking spice notes and an herbal edge that nudge it into “it’s Fall y’all” territory    The main focal point here is the calvados base spirit and Granny Smith juice that work together to bring the apple flavor. My apples were a little less tart than I prefer hence the addition of the malic acid (also, there’s no real need to clarify the juice for this, though you didn’t hear that from me). These flavors are balanced out with a touch of allspice dram to bring the baking spice notes, and Strega, which provides fennel and anise notes, as well as herbal undertones that pair nicely with the apple (plus, Strega is the Italian word for witch—how spooky and Fall-esque)   The burning sage aroma really ties together the Strega/apple combo, leaving you with a slightly sweet and ever-so savory drink that meets the refreshment qualifications of summer while also providing a view of what to look forward to in Fall"