15 Hot Cocktails to Help You Survive the Winter

• By WineBottleMag
• December 25, 2024
• Cocktails Hot Survive Winter
• With 0 comments

When the temperature drops near freezing and the sun is setting while you’re still at the office, there are few comforts that can provide more relief from the short, cold days than a hot cocktail. 

Warm alcoholic beverages date back to at least the first century, “when a Roman gourmand Apicus wrote of ‘conditum paradoxum,’ a white wine with honey, saffron, mastica and black pepper,” shares The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails. Essentially, the first documented mulled wine, this ancient concoction was served both cold and hot.

This tradition of warming cocktails seemingly exploded in Medieval times. Mulled wine became a mainstay across Northern Europe with various cultures, creating their own interpretations (read on for recipes). Posset, a warm milk punch, and predecessor to eggnog, was also popularized across Britain during this period. This is also when wassail bowls, mulled hot cider, ale or mead, would be shared with local carolers who traveled from door-to-door singing during the holiday season.

Long story short, since the beginning of recorded history, humans have been warming their bodies and cold-battered souls with hot drinks during the holiday season and into the depths of winter. 

To help carry on this age-old tradition, we’ve pulled together our favorite boozy hot beverage recipes. From traditional whiskey-scented hot toddies and the wide world of mulled wines to eggnog, hot tea cocktails, cider-based drinks and everything in between, here are 15 warm cocktails to help you make it through the winter.

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Whiskey-Based Hot Cocktails

The Classic Hot Toddy

This warm, boozy beverage that actually hails from India mixes a hot base with some type of liquor. In this recipe, we stuck with the classic hot water, lemon, honey and your choice of whiskey, brandy or bourbon.

Toddy Service

Think of this hot toddy variation as tea with bells and whistles. Easy to make for one or a group, this customizable creation calls for whatever spices, spirits and flavorings you have on hand.

Sake Hot Toddy

Essentially a hot sake-hot toddy hybrid, this is a fun and nuanced riff on two classics.

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Warm and Boozy Chocolate-Based Drinks

Boozy Hot Chocolate

A true hot chocolate—rather than hot cocoa—this classic recipe combines both cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate with heavy cream and rum. It’s a little work, but is about as cozy as it gets.

Red Wine Hot Chocolate

Yes, it sounds weird (and arguably gross). But trust us, this red wine-hot chocolate concoction works. Better yet? It’s easy to serve for a crowd.

Hot Mentha Mess

If you like Mexican hot chocolate, this is your winter drink. Bold bourbon is balanced by cocoa, a kick of cayenne and mint-infused bitter amaro, Fernet Branca Menta.

Sweet and Creamy Hot Rum-Based Cocktails

Hot Buttered Rum

Originally intended for medicinal purposes, this colonial-era drink is a steaming mixture of rum, butter, sugar, spices and hot water. The end result is a velvety rich texture with a hint of sweetness and lots of depth.

Hot Eggnog

Eggnog is a holiday mainstay for good reason. Try it hot with one of these three variations we’ve pulled together, which feature rum or another spirit of your choosing.

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Warm Cider-Based Beverages

Spiced Cranberry Orange Wassail

Wassail (hot cider, ale or mead mulled with spices and aromatics) dates back to medieval England. It’s still a holiday staple for many. This whiskey-topped, cider-based version is scented with cinnamon, clove and allspice, along with cranberries and oranges.

Hot Cocktails with Hot Coffee

Irish Coffee

This creamy, hot combo of coffee and Irish whiskey is most closely associated with San Francisco’s famous Buena Vista Café, which claims to have brought it to the United States. Whether that’s true or not, we don’t know for sure. But we do know their blend of sugar, hot coffee, Irish whiskey and cold whipped cream will warm your spirits on a cold winter’s day (or night).

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Haters be damned: pumpkin spice lattes are delicious. Avoid a trip to Starbucks—and potential public judgement—with this easy recipe. It can be made without booze or jazzed up with the addition of Cognac, rum or bourbon.

Warming and Warm Cognac-Cocktails

Almond Orchard

Thick eggnogs and buttered rum too decadent for you? Try this. It boasts a creamy texture from steamed almond milk, with rich Demerara syrup for added body and the sweet flavors of Cognac in a soothingly warm package.

Must-Try Mulled Wine Recipes

Glühwein

Mulled wine but make it German. This traditional version is made with red wine and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star aniseed, citrus and sugar.

Mulled Rosé with Ginger and Grapefruit

A lighter, zestier take on mulled wine, this rosé-based rendition is citrusy and aromatic due to the addition of spices like pink peppercorns, star anise, allspice berries and other nontraditional ingredients.

Hot Tea-Based Adult Bevys

Grand Street Hot Toddy

Looking for a lower-alcohol take on the iconic hot toddy? Try this amaro-based rendition with chamomile tea.

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More Cocktail Coverage

• 13 Christmas cocktails for boosting holiday spirits.
• Go back to the crisp (longer) days of autumn with an apple cider spritz.
• Or find holiday inspiration from side dishes with these Thanksgiving-themed drinks.
• Travel back to the “disco days” with this Harvey Wallbanger recipe.
• And, if you want to caffeinate yourself through winter, try this NA Espresso Martini.

The post 15 Hot Cocktails to Help You Survive the Winter appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.

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