Stone Fence Recipe

It may sound like a powder keg, but this drink that predates the republic has its own charm. Quintessentially autumnal and once a staple of every tavern menu, the Stone Fence is a bibulous fossil of the colonial era, a time when hard cider filled every cup, sometimes mixed with something harder to help ward off the chill.

Use an artisanal cider, if you can find one, but the choice of spirit is pretty open: applejack or the bolder Laird's Apple Brandy provide a nice boost of apple flavor, but bourbon, rye, scotch, or dark rum are all perfectly acceptable. Just don't underestimate the Stone Fence--get too casual with a second or a third, and you may feel like you've run headlong into the drink's namesake.