Fall is a wonderful, wonderful time. It begins hoodie season, changing leaves season, and hot drink season. Hot drink season is honestly what I look forward to most. Drinking something hot won’t make you overheated or uncomfortable, but rather warm and fuzzy. Plus, there’s so many great fall flavors.
And what does everyone do? They go out and drink pumpkin spice everything.
Now, I like pumpkin spice things as much as the next girl. Our office is burning a pumpkin spice wax as I write this. There’s some pumpkin spice tea hiding in my desk. Some days, my boss’ll come back from lunch break with a pumpkin spice coffee for me. And don’t get me started on how much I love pumpkin rolls or pie.
But see, pumpkin spice gets so much hype that it’s older, more relaxed cousin gets practically no love. And this is a crime.
It’s okay, apple cider. I know how special you are.
Apple cider was on the scene before people were dumping pumpkin spice in their everything like the colonists dumped tea into their harbor. It has been paired with cinnamon sticks, pumpkin carving, and even trick-or-treating – my neighborhood has a group of adults who throw a part in their yards Halloween night and offer apple cider and hot dogs to anyone who passes. It can be drunk hot, cold, spiced, spiked, or straight out of the jug. It is it’s own drink; it doesn’t exist solely to be put into other drinks to make them taste good. (You can make other drinks with it, though, and I find a splash of it helps cool down coffee as well as liven it up.)
“Apple cider is just apple juice though, but with a bigger price tag!” you cry. To which I laugh and pat your head. Apple cider is not filtered; you get the teeny apple bits in your drink, and there is much less added sugar than apple juice. Apple juice is an imposter and should not be trusted around this time of year, as it gets jealous and spouts lies that it is, in fact, the same as apple cider.
There’s also the argument that November is the month for apple cider; pumpkin spice is just for October because, y’know, pumpkins. And this may have been the case in the past. But they are advertising Christmas before Halloween is even over anymore, and people buy into this, so what do they drink because the season is upon them? Hot chocolate and mint flavored everything. It’s so festive. And the kids just love it. I can’t deny these thing; I’m a huge sucker for mint hot chocolate. But in this, cider doesn’t get it’s time to shine. A crime against humanity. A front-page scandal.
So I beg you, the next time you’re in the grocery store, pick up a jug of apple cider. A little one, at least. For me. Whether you keep it all to yourself or share it with friends is your business, so long as you are part of the Apple Cider Revolution. Together, we will overthrow Pumpkin Spice from it’s throne of deceit and crown the true Fall Drink Royalty.
A Banana Pepper 