There is nothing quite like sitting outside around a fire pit or even inside to escape the cold with a hot drink to warm your hands, body and mood. Like a Southside in summer, warm cocktails and other drinks want winter. There are classics like mulled wine, Irish coffee, and Tom and Jerry, or you can always throw a dash of brandy in a mug of hot chocolate or tea.
For those festive warmers well stocked with liquor, bartenders can use mugs or coffee mugs at home. Glass are beautiful. Remember that the drink is hot and the container needs a handle. Seasonally decorated cocktail napkins are just as necessary as tinsel on the tree.
Here you can find some warm drinks to sip before or even after dinner. There’s a pretty classic mulled wine, a smoky tea-based smoker who relies on Lapsang Souchong tea and peaty scotch for charred appeal, and a riff on hot butter rum from Ivy Mix and Julie Reiner, two stars in the New Yorker Bartender Galaxy Run a seasonal menu called Sleyenda at Brooklyn Bar Leyenda. An espresso machine or at least a milk frother is required for the cappuccino egg liqueur, an egg-free preparation.
After skiing
Adapted from Quality Eats, Quality Italian and Quality Bistro restaurants in New York City
Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
½ cup) sugar
2 cinnamon sticks plus more for portions
1 teaspoon of whole cloves
1 teaspoon of whole allspice
3 cups (1 bottle) of rich but dry red wine such as Zinfandel
¼ cup Benedictine
¼ cup of cognac or brandy
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Orange wheels for garnish
1. Put sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice in a 2 liter saucepan. Add ½ cup of water. Bring to the boil and, after the sugar has dissolved, simmer for 5 minutes while stirring.
2. Add the wine, Bénédictine, cognac and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a jug, sifting out the spices. Spread on cups or a heavy stemmed glass and garnish each with a cinnamon stick and a slice of orange. Serve warm.
Winter and smoke
Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 drinks
1 teaspoon of Lapsang Souchong leaf tea or 1 tea bag
5 star aniseed
5 green cardamom pods
6 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of honey
3 ounces of smoky scotch, like Laphroig or Lagavulin.
2 lemon wheels for garnish
1. In a small saucepan, brew tea in 6 ounces of water. Add 3 star anise, cardamom and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Stir in lemon juice, honey and scotch.
2. Pour into 2 glass cups, garnish each with a star anise pod and a lemon wheel and serve.
Nightmare before Christmas
Adapted from Sleyenda in Brooklyn
Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 drink
2 ounces of dark rum
2 tablespoons of passion fruit puree or lemon curd
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of pineapple juice
1 tablespoon of lime juice
½ tablespoon of salted butter in a single pat
1. Mix the rum, passion fruit puree, honey, pineapple juice and lime juice in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring, until the ingredients are well mixed. Pour into a preheated coffee cup.
2. Sprinkle with butter and serve.
“Eggnog” cappuccino
Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 drink
Ground coffee for a 2-ounce espresso, regular or no coffee
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of brandy or other liquor
¼ cup of heavy cream
Pinch of nutmeg
1. Brew the espresso in a cup or mug (at least 6 ounces capacity). Stir in sugar and brandy.
2. In a separate container, lather the cream by machine or with a foam stick. Pour over the coffee, dust with nutmeg and serve.
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