The holidays are over, and the waiting game for spring has officially begun. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so the spring thaw isn’t coming any time soon. For much of the northern hemisphere, the weather is frigid, and some are even looking out their windows at yards blanketed with snow. Fear not, it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s a great time to bundle up under a warm blanket with a hot cocktail.
In my years of drinking alcohol, I’ve found that while you can’t go wrong with a nice Old Fashioned, Manhattan, or other boozy cocktail, nothing beats a warming cocktail on a cold winter night.
What is a hot cocktail?
The term “hot cocktail” is fairly straightforward. It’s an alcoholic drink that’s crafted to be enjoyed on a cold day or night. While recipes vary, hot cocktails often feature a base spirit like whiskey or rum, hot water, tea, or coffee, a sweetener or two, and other ingredients. The best part? There are a handful of complex, multi-layered hot cocktails well-suited for the cold winter months ahead.
While there are other hot cocktails, some of our favorites include the underrated Hot Toddy, timeless Irish Coffee, the indulgent Hot Buttered Rum, and spiced Mulled Wine. Below, you’ll learn a little about each drink’s history as well as ingredients, and step-by-step directions for all four.
Hot Toddy
Like many classic drinks, the Hot Toddy’s origins are a little murky. It can be traced back to the 17th century in the British colonies in India, where it was originally called a “Taddy,” which was a drink made from fermented palm sap. Over the years, it began to transform into the whisky, hot water, lemon juice, and honey-based drinks we know and love today.
Ingredients:
1 ounce blended Scotch whisky
1 tablespoon honey
.5 ounces fresh lemon juice
1 cup hot water
Lemon wheel
Preparation: Boil a cup of water in a saucepan. Add the blended Scotch whisky, honey, and fresh lemon juice to a warmed mug. Top with hot water. Stir gently to combine all the ingredients and dissolve the honey. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Irish Coffee
The iconic hot cocktail, Irish Coffee, was first created back in 1943 by a chef named Joe Sheridan at Foynes Airport in County Limerick, Ireland. This warming, boozy, caffeinated drink features Irish whiskey, strong, freshly brewed coffee, brown sugar, and heavy whipping cream.
Ingredients:
1.5 ounces Irish whiskey
6 ounces freshly brewed coffee
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Preparation: In a warmed Irish Coffee glass, add brown sugar and hot coffee. Then, add the Irish whiskey and stir all the ingredients gently until the brown sugar dissolves. Add a heavy whipping cream float by pouring it on top of the drink down the back of a bar spoon.
Hot Buttered Rum
With a name like Hot Buttered Rum, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that this timeless hot cocktail has its origins in Colonial America. Based on the Hot Toddy imbibed back in England and Scotland, the American version was made with locally made rum, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. While it was created centuries ago, it was another cocktail that had a triumphant return in the first half of the 20th century and still remains a winter staple to this day.
Ingredients:
2 ounces spiced rum
2 tablespoons Hot Buttered Rum batter
Batter recipe:
8 ounces brown sugar
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Hot water topper
Preparation: Warm a mug. Add the room temperature batter. Add rum and top with boiling water, stir gently to combine everything.
Mulled Wine
There might not be any hot cocktail older than Mulled Wine. The drink of wine, spices, and honey has been traced back to ancient Rome. The modern version features red wine, brandy, a sweetener, spices, and citrus. It’s made in a big batch and features a whole bottle of wine. It’s boozy, warming, spiced, and perfect for a frigid winter night.
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of red wine
4 ounces of brandy
2 ounces of honey
1 orange sliced into wheels
2 star anise
6 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
Preparation: Put a saucepan on the stove. Add the whole bottle of red wine, brandy, honey, star anise, oranges, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Simmer until everything is combined and warmed to your preference. It should take about 10-15 minutes. Pour the Mulled Wine into warmed mugs. Garnish with more orange wheels and cinnamon sticks.
Bottom line
Hopefully by now, we’ve opened you up to a whole new world of warming, hot cocktails. We’re not saying you need to stop sipping on your Tuesday taco adjacent Margarita, simply whip up a hot cocktail or two during the remaining winter months. They’re boozy, warming, and well-suited for cold weather. What’s not to love?
