Martha Stewart's Go-To Thanksgiving Cocktail Only Has 3 Ingredients

At Thanksgiving, you can use all the help you can get. Whether that's combing through Thanksgiving Dinner hacks you'll wish you knew sooner or turning to Ree Drummond's favorite Thanksgiving shortcut, anywhere you can shave off fifteen minutes here and there is almost always worth taking the shortcut when it comes to preparing a massive holiday feast. While many of us can rely on involving the helping hands of friends and family, sometimes even those many hands just don't seem to be quite enough.

That's where the queen of entertaining comes in. Martha Stewart knows you'll be busy entertaining guests and chopping onions (probably at the same time), and she has a perfect fix to scratch one thing off your Thanksgiving to-do list with almost zero effort — cocktails! You might be thinking, Oh no, we're doing beer and wine, fast, easy, and self-serve. But Martha's holiday cocktails are a festive and fuss-free way to elevate your entertaining without giving yourself a headache and finger cramps from muddling sage and brown sugar for some over-the-top concoction.

If you want to treat your guests to a sip of Martha Stewart's kitchen this Thanksgiving, all you'll need are a few key ingredients that you probably already have on hand (via Martha Stewart). Fans who were wowed by Stewart's homemade apple cider on Instagram might not be surprised by her go-to beverage. The drink is called an Apple Cider Whiskey Sour, and that kind of says it all. You'll need a pitcher and a large spoon or a cocktail shaker to get started.

Once you've got that set up, pour in apple cider and bourbon. Stewart recommends Michter's Kentucky Straight Bourbon, but any bourbon you have on hand will do just fine. If you're making a mocktail, at this step, swap in orange juice for the bourbon. Now, get out your juicer and squeeze the juice from one lemon to balance out the sweetness of the cider (via YouTube). Add it to the pitcher or shaker. Combine well. If you want to serve your drink cold, shake it with ice and strain it, rather than serving it over ice to prevent a watery cocktail. Pour brown sugar onto a small plate and dip the rims of your glasses into the sugar for an optional sugared rim. 

That's it! With just three main ingredients, you can create the culinary icon's favorite drink for Thanksgiving. Overall, it sounds like a beverage you may want to add to your list of best fall cocktail recipes.