Stay Warm This Fall with Levant’s Take on a Hot Toddy

This is the Toffaha Toddy, a fall cocktail from Levant, Portland’s only French-Arabesque restaurant. The Toffaha (which means apple in Arabic) Toddy is crafted with apple brandy, honey syrup, allspice dram and Cynar, an Italian liqueur flavored with herbs and plants. The allspice dram, a liqueur crafted with allspice berries, adds a strong spicy counterpoint to the sweetness from the honey syrup. The ingredients should be mixed with baked apple pieces and served in a warm glass. For added holiday flavor, garnish the cocktail with a long strip of apple peel wrapped around a cinnamon stick.

Toffaha Toddy

2 oz. Lairs Bonded Apple Brandy

1 oz. Honey syrup

0.5 oz. Lemon juice

0.5 oz. Cynar

0.25 oz. Allspice dram

2 oz. Boiling water

One half of a baked apple

Shake all ingredients with a baked apples pieces (recipe below) without ice, strain into a warmed glass, and add 2 oz. boiling water. Garnish with a long strip of apple peel wrapped around a cinnamon stick.

For the baked apple:

Peel and core an apple and then stick cloves and pieces of a cinnamon stick into the flesh and bake covered for about an hour at 350 degrees.