The Sparkling Stone Fence

The Stone Fence is one of the oldest cocktails in the American record, a mixture of rum and hard cider that is associated with the eve of the Revolutionary War. The most repeated story holds that in 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys gathered at the Remington Tavern in Castleton, Vermont, before their raid on Fort Ticonderoga, and that the drink they knocked back to fortify themselves was the Stone Fence. The name is said to come from the stone walls that lined the New England fields where the drink was first mixed. Whether the Allen story is exact or embroidered, the drink itself, two colonial American ingredients poured over ice, is genuinely two centuries old (PUNCH; The Drunkard's Almanac).

The Stone Fence is almost embarrassingly simple, and that simplicity is its strength. The rum gives the drink its backbone, the hard cider gives it acidity and apple character, and the two together produce something that tastes of the orchard and the field. Topped with sparkling wine, the Stone Fence becomes a brunch cider cup, the bubbles lifting the apple and the rum into something bright and celebratory while keeping the drink's rustic character intact.

Ingredients (serves 6): - 9 oz dark rum (such as Appleton Estate Reserve or Myers's) - 36 oz hard apple cider (a dry craft cider, not sweet) - 1 bottle (3 ⅛ cups) chilled Cava Brut or dry Prosecco - 6 dashes Angostura bitters (optional) - Thin apple slices and cinnamon sticks for garnish

Instructions: Fill six rocks glasses with a large ice cube each. Pour 1½ oz dark rum into each glass. Add a dash of Angostura bitters if using. Top with 6 oz hard cider per glass, pouring gently. Finish with 1 oz chilled Cava per glass, poured slowly down the side. Garnish with a thin apple slice and a cinnamon stick. Stir gently once before serving.

For a Crowd (serves 12): - 18 oz dark rum, 72 oz hard cider, 2 bottles chilled Cava Brut - Build directly in the glasses or in a pitcher over ice; top each glass with Cava at service to preserve the bubbles.

Variations: - Bourbon Stone Fence: Replace the rum with bourbon for the Appalachian whiskey interpretation, equally traditional. - Spiced Stone Fence: Muddle a slice of fresh ginger and a cinnamon stick in the glass before building for a warming autumn version. - Maple Stone Fence: Add a teaspoon of dark maple syrup per glass and stir to dissolve for a New England sweetening.

Pairing: The Stone Fence's apple-and-rum character pairs with autumnal brunch dishes such as buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy or apple butter pancakes. Its cider base also makes it a natural alongside a sparkling cider cooler for a non-alcoholic brunch option.

Reference Links: - Stone Fence (Ethan Allen, Green Mountain Boys, 1775, Fort Ticonderoga): PUNCH - Stone Fence (Boston Massacre, colonial American cocktail): The Drunkard's Almanac

Pro Tips: Use a dry, craft hard cider rather than a sweet one, as the drink depends on the cider's acidity to balance the rum, and a sweet cider will make it cloying. A dark, molasses-forward rum gives the drink more depth than a light rum, which will read thin. Serve the drink well chilled, since a warm Stone Fence loses its refreshment. Add the sparkling wine at the very end and stir only once, because the cider and the wine are both carbonated and over-stirring flattens both.