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Non-alcoholic Spiced Apple Cider Mimosa Bar with sparkling apple drinks, fresh apples, cranberries, cinnamon, orange, and rosemary.

Perfect Spiced Apple Cider Mimosa Bar

A festive non-alcoholic fall drink bar with chilled spiced apple cider, sparkling apple cider, fresh fruit, cinnamon, cranberries, and rosemary for Thanksgiving brunches and autumn parties.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 12 drinks
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cups apple cider
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 2 whole star anise pods
  • 1 medium orange divided
  • 1 –2 crisp apples divided
  • 1 bottle about 25 ounces sparkling apple cider, chilled
  • 1 bottle about 25 ounces sparkling white grape juice, chilled
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries for garnish
  • Small bunch fresh rosemary for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Optional Cinnamon-Sugar Rim:
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Apple cider or a very small amount of maple syrup for moistening rims

Method
 

  1. Pour the apple cider into a medium saucepan.
  2. Add the cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and star anise.
  3. Add several orange slices and several thick apple slices.
  4. Warm over medium-low heat until gently steaming without bringing the cider to an aggressive boil.
  5. Reduce the heat and infuse for 10–15 minutes, tasting after approximately 10 minutes.
  6. Remove from the heat and strain out the spices and cooked fruit.
  7. Allow the cider to cool, then refrigerate until completely chilled, ideally for at least 2 hours.
  8. Keep the sparkling apple cider and sparkling white grape juice refrigerated until serving.
  9. Shortly before serving, thinly slice the remaining apple and toss gently with lemon juice.
  10. Slice the remaining orange.
  11. Rinse and dry the cranberries and prepare small rosemary sprigs.
  12. If making cinnamon-sugar rims, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon in a shallow dish.
  13. Lightly moisten selected glass rims with apple cider or a very thin layer of maple syrup and dip into the cinnamon sugar.
  14. Transfer the chilled spiced cider to a serving pitcher.
  15. Arrange the sparkling beverages beside the pitcher and open them only when ready to serve.
  16. Arrange apple slices, orange slices, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, and rosemary in small bowls or on a garnish board.
  17. For each drink, pour approximately 1/2 cup chilled spiced apple cider into a glass.
  18. Top with approximately 1/2 cup sparkling apple cider or sparkling white grape juice.
  19. Garnish as desired.
  20. Serve immediately while bubbly.

Notes

This recipe is intentionally non-alcoholic.
Prepare and chill the spiced apple cider up to 1–2 days ahead.
Do not combine the sparkling beverages with the cider pitcher ahead of time or the drinks will lose carbonation.
Keep sparkling beverages chilled and unopened until serving.
Taste the cider while it infuses because cloves and star anise can become overpowering.
For a less-sweet drink, replace part of the sparkling cider with plain sparkling water.
Slice garnish apples shortly before serving and toss lightly with lemon juice to slow browning.
Keep the drink bar simple rather than overcrowding it with unnecessary garnishes.