tapestry of stone

1 oz Hamilton's Demerara 151 Proof Rum
1 oz Cloudy Cider (not fermented)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
For Eater's Cocktail Week this week, I was asked to submit a recipe utilizing this year's chosen ingredient -- apple cider (see the complete list here). For a starting place, I thought about the Stone Fences that I used to drink a bunch of at Green Street; their version was rye whiskey, cloudy apple cider, and Angostura Bitters. The drink is perfectly Colonial and the Green Mountain Boys drank them for courage in attacking Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. Their version was more likely rum with fermented cider though according the David Wondrich. Rum and apple cider? I can work with that concept; however, I did not want a tall drink or even one served in an Old Fashioned glass with ice. Therefore, I utilized our double strength Demerara rum to the fullest to maximize the flavors while keeping the build to 3 ounces. Originally, I wanted the sweetener to be Benedictine, but it was a bit subtle in the mix and it added extra ABV to an already bold drink. Instead, cinnamon syrup worked better. For a name, I worked with the stone fence or stone wall thought and uncovered this gem from under-appreciated New England poet Helen Keller. In her 1910 poem "The Song of the Stone Wall," she contains the drink name-worthy "tapestry of stone":

Come walk with me, and I will tell
What I have read in this scroll of stone;
I will spell out this writing on hill and meadow.
It is a chronicle wrought by praying workmen,
The forefathers of our nation--
Leagues upon leagues of sealed history awaiting an interpreter.
This is New England's tapestry of stone
Alive with memories that throb and quiver
At the core of the ages
As the prophecies of old at the heart of God's Word.

In the glass, the Tapestry of Stone offered apple and nutmeg aromas. Next, caramel, apple, and lemon on the sip transitioned into rum, apple, vanilla, and cinnamon on the swallow. Over time, the nutmeg spice also incorporated into the flavor profile.