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1. Place the cinnamon sticks in a 500mL mason jar. Or you can do what I did and put the cinnamon sticks in the bottle of bourbon.
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2. If using a mason jar, pour the bourbon over the cinnamon sticks. Seal the jar and let it steep for 2-3 weeks, then strain out the cinnamon.
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3. Use this bourbon to spike apple cider, or add it to cocktails.
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When our parents took us on a trip to Sri Lanka, we visited a cinnamon plantation. We were given a small piece of the fresh bark of the cinnamon tree to taste, and not only did it taste like delicious cinnamon, it was surprisingly sweet! I was able to take a large, sturdy branch of the cinnamon tree back to Riyadh. I used it as a walking stick and even though it was stripped of its bark, it still faintly smelled of cinnamon for months afterward.
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The farmer on the plantation told us that while he grew true cinnamon, most of what the rest of the world gets, either in ground cinnamon or cinnamon stick form, is really cassia. I could taste the difference between his cinnamon and the so-called cinnamon I had tried in the past, and this was much superior. Alas, most of the cassia is labeled 'Cinnamon,' so it is extremely difficult to tell if you're getting the real deal. No matter, this recipe works well with cassia, too. Try a splash of this in a cup of apple cider and enjoy either hot or cold!
