The guys who are participating in CocktailDB so far have shared some nice looking recipes. One of them, who declared that he would never use that artifical “toxic” green apple Pucker schnapps to make the apple martinis his customers requested, sought and found a superior product. I’d been using Calvados, a touch of Stoli and apple juice for my versions so far, but I’d seen a product at The Wine House that I’d been curious about: Berentzen Apfel Korn Schnapps, a German product made from fresh apples. I haven’t tried it yet, but these guys said it’s quite good, and offered the following recipes:

Apple Martini

1-1/2 ounces vodka.
3/4 ounce Berentzen apple schanpps.
Splash of Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider.

Add the first two ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker; shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with a splash of Martinelli’s, and garnish with a fresh apple slice.

Here’s another nice looking one that I’ll try tonight, but I might have to add at least a dash of bitters to it if it’s going to have “Manhattan” in the name:

Big Apple Manhattan
(Created by Dale DeGroff and Audrey Saunders)

2 ounces Maker’s Mark Bourbon.
1/2 ounce Berentzen Apple Schnapps.
Slice of fresh apple.

Stir well with ice; strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the slice of apple. Don’t omit the apple slice; it’s really important. (Thanks to Martin Doudoroff for the recipe.)

UPDATE: Because I can’t help messing with things … either of these would be excellent with a dash of Fee’s Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters, too.