Name: Elder and Wiser
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 50 ml Bourbon whiskey; 20 ml Elderflower liqueur; 20 ml Apple juice

Elder & Wiser
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Glass:

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ²⁄₃ fl oz	Bourbon whiskey
²⁄₃ fl oz	Elderflower liqueur
²⁄₃ fl oz	Apple juice/apple cider (cloudy & unsweetened)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into ice-filled glass.

Garnish:

EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Cocktail of the day:

23rd May 2026 is World Turtle Day

Review:

Apple and elderflower are flavours that blend harmoniously with bourbon whiskey.

View readers' comments

History:

Created in 2006 by yours truly and named for its original base, Wiser's Canadian whisky with elder-flower liqueur. Due to feedback, particularly from fellow discerning drinker, Andre Derailleur, in May 2026, I revisited this cocktail. If serving over ice, I favour Andre's 4:1:1 ratio (60ml, 15ml, 15ml), but I prefer my Elder & Wiser served straight up using the above 5:2:2 ratio. (My original recipe followed a 2:1:1 ratio of 45ml, 22.5ml, 22.5ml.)

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Nutrition:

One serving of Elder & Wiser contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
21.65% alc./vol. (43.3° proof)
20.9 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 7 comments for Elder & Wiser.
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Andre Derailleur

23rd May at 09:05

The whiskey elder and apple combination is tasty, but very sweet as specified. I preferred a 4:1:1 ratio with a slice of lemon to add just a touch of acid, plus a dash of bitters to give some more depth.

trendomexico

23rd May at 00:57

OMG is so fruity. Sugar is even in my eyes. It would be amazin' in Gen Z. But for us older generations is like candy. As a matter of fact other commentary says about the banana taste, is true. Good but just one time in a lifetime.

margaret badger

23rd May 2025 at 18:41

Not horrible, but all I can taste is banana (which is, to me, what bourbon tastes like - and banana is not my favourite flavour)! For me, not sure the bitters made any difference. One for our American cousins, I think!

James Griffin

23rd May 2025 at 18:02

Fantastic spring cocktail. Had to substitute elderflower liqueur for a homemade elderflower cordial which added sweetness and reduced alcohol

Calvin Grant

23rd May 2024 at 02:03

Delightful and delicious, floral and fruity, and so springtimely... the black elder is in bloom in my neighborhood...and ninety nine proof bourbon balanced the sweeter elements nicely. Thanks Simon!

John Hinojos

24th May 2023 at 00:45

This was very good and loved that the three flavours could be distinguished. The sweetness will be dictated by the sweetness of the apple juice. While it was a tad sweeter for us, we did add 3 - 4 drops of grapefruit bitters and it lessened the sweetness and brightened the three flavours.

Christopher Chaffin

23rd September 2024 at 09:42

After your recommendation I tried the same thing, after adding a squeeze of lemon juice, and it opened the flavors much more than before and made it significantly more palatable. Thank you for the recommendation!

Anonymous

12th July 2021 at 23:46

On the sweeter side, but can taste all three ingredients. 2 1/2 stars(Hubby) 3 1/2(Wifey)

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