Are you a winter person or a summer person? If you are a summer person, well too damn bad, it’s winter. Join the rest of us with thermals under our thermals and light the fireplace, because we’re about to get hammered.
Here’s a list of the top ten winter cocktails to warm those shivering bones.
1. Hot Buttered Rum
Ingredients
1 oz dark or spiced rum1 oz light rum 1 tsp Compound butter1 oz brown sugar or demerara syrup1 oz hot water or ciderCinnamon stick for garnish
Directions
Mix all the ingredients (except the garnish) in a heatproof goblet and stir a few times to melt the butter. Garnish with the cinnamon stick.
2. Rusty Nail
Drambuie is a golden colored, 40% ABV Liqueur made from scotch whiskey, heather honey, herbs, and spices. The brand was owned by the Mackinnon family for a hundred years but was bought by William Grant and Sons in 2014.
Drambuie is both perfectly sweet and delightfully complex. The liqueur has a superbly smooth taste, notably marked with spiced honey. You’ll find notes of anise, orange peel, and oak.
Ingredients
2 oz Scotch.75 oz Drambuie
Directions
Pour the scotch over ice in a rocks glass and float the Drambuie on Top. Stir with your index finger if you want to be a real rat packer.
3. Stinger
Ingredients
2 oz Martel VSOP Cognac1 oz Marie Brizard No 33 White creme de menthe
Directions
Shake the ingredients hard with ice and strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice.
4. Glog
Ingredients
4 oz Vodka or Cognac1 750 ml full-bodied red wine 1/3 cup dark raisins1/3 cup blanched almond slicespeel of 1 small orange w/o pith5 crushed cardamom pods5 whole cloves1 cinnamon stick3 oz simple syrupRaisins for garnish
Directions
In a container, combine the wine, raisins, almonds, orange peel, and spices. Cover and let the mixture stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Strain the wine into a samovar, discarding the solids. Add the vodka and simple syrup to taste. Serve hot from samovar in heat-resistant stemware or in punch cups. Garnish each serving with golden raisins and blanched almonds.
5. Irish Coffee
Ingredients
1.5 oz Irish Whiskey4 oz Hot coffee1 oz warm brown sugar or demerara syrupUnsweetened hand whipped Irish coffee cream
Directions
Combine the whiskey, coffee, and syrup in a preheated Irish coffee glass. Gently ladle 1 inch of hand-whipped cream on top.
6. Uncle Angelo’s Eggnog
Ingredients
8 oz Four roses Bourbon 6 oz spiced Rum6 large eggs separated¾ cup sugar1 Quart milk1 pint heavy creamFreshly grated nutmeg for garnish
Directions
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks well until they turn light in color, adding the half cup of sugar as you beat. Add the milk, cream, and liqueurs and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, beat the egg whites with the remaining .25 oz cup of sugar until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the eggnog mixture. Serve cold with freshly grated nutmeg sprinkled over the drink.
7. Everest
Ingredients
2.50 oz Beefeater 24 Gin.75 oz Coconut curry paste.50 oz lemon juicePinch of curry powder for garnish
Directions
Combine the gin, curry paste, and lemon juice in a shaker. Add ice, and shake, and strain into an Achilles cocktail glass. Garnish with a pinch of curry powder and serve.
8. Bellini
The Bellini is one of our favorite sparkling cocktails to have all year round. But if you want to add a little bit of class to your holiday parties, then the bellini is the go-to. If you like the Bellini, check out our other top ten favorite wine cocktails of all time by clicking here.
Ingredients
3 oz Dry prosecco: mionetto prestige collection DOC treviso brut2 oz colored and chilled white peach puree.50 oz Marie Brizard no11 peach liqueur float (optional)
Directions
Put the peach puree in the bottom of a mixing glass without ice. Slowly pour in the prosecco while gently pulling the colored peach puree up the side of the glass to mix with the prosecco; stir gently to avoid losing the effervescence. strain into a champagne flute and float the peach liqueur, if desired.
9. Dirty White Mother
Ingredients
1.50 oz Bertoux Brandy1 oz Kahlua1 oz heavy cream
Directions
Shake all the ingredients with ice. Strain into a rock’s glass over ice cubes.
10. Narens Bobby Burns
herbal liqueur
Bénédictine (French pronunciation: [benediktin]) is an herbal liqueur produced in France. It was developed by wine merchant Alexandre Le Grand in the 19th century, and is reputedly flavored with twenty-seven flowers, berries, herbs, roots, and spices.
Ingredients
1 oz Dewar’s 12 year old Scotch1 oz Martini and Rossi sweet vermouth.25 oz Benedictine2 dashes of Dale Degroff’s Pimento Aromatic BittersShortbread cookie for garnish
Directions
Stir all the ingredients (except the garnish) with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve with the shortbread cookie on the side.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these cocktails soothe the soul as you look out a frosted window wearing grandma’s knitted sweater. What did you think of our list? did we miss anything? let us know in the comments below. Remember to stay cozy, and get hammered.
