The Ultimate 2-Ingredient Thanksgiving Cocktail

An easy, modern drink for a holiday that desperately needs one.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you're serving turkey for Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes, too. Maybe an array of vegetables and glorious carbohydrates will make their way onto the table.

As to what you're going to drink, I have no idea. There aren't many traditions when it comes to cocktails at Thanksgiving, which is perplexing, because it's a holiday that needs a very specific drink. A Thanksgiving tipple has to please all (legal) ages; provide enough boozy punch that it eases everyone up, but not so much that it causes someone to make a scene (I'm looking at you Uncle Jim); and, like the rest of the Thanksgiving meal, it has to be seasonal.

So with all that in mind, I developed The Fall Spritz.

It's based on the idea of a traditional spritz, which combines light sparkling wine with a light apéritif (check out this Aperol version). But seeing as Thanksgiving weather is decidedly not pool-friendly, I swapped out a light-bodied apéritif for something a bit more cold weather-appropriate: Cognac. It's got a bit more alcoholic heft to it, sure, but this fortified wine has a balance of sugar and acid that keeps things from getting into oh-wow-I-can-barely-drink-that territory. Plus, the fancy-sounding French spirit is actually readily available and no more expensive than a decent bottle of vodka or gin. Look for a bottle that's tailor-made for cocktail shaking (as opposed to sniffer glass sipping) like Adet's VSOP Cognac ($32).

Cognac also happens to get along well with hard apple cider. Don't worry—this isn't the sticky-sweet stuff you grew up drinking. Instead, high-quality hard ciders land somewhere between a dry white wine and a glass of artisanal apple juice (with a bit of beer-like earthiness thrown in for good measure). Look for a bottle that's labeled semi-dry, which will have just the right amount of sweetness for cocktail applications.

Combine both over ice, garnish with a flamed orange peel, and you've got yourself a two-ingredient solution to an age old problem.

As for that problem named Uncle Jim? You're on your own.