
From hot toddies to mulled wine, here are your 5 new favorite warm cocktails
In case you haven't noticed, it's finally starting to feel more like winter around here. And with the chillier weather come cold-weather cocktails designed to warm you from the inside out. Whether you're a hot toddy purist or a lover of Irish coffee, these five warm cocktail recipes will be sure to please. Pull out your mugs — it's five o'clock somewhere, right? Click the arrows above to see all of the recipes.
Photo: Dave Michuda/Unsplash
Homemade Mulled Apple Cider
This contest-winning cider recipe is full of warm spice and fresh apple flavor. In fact, we like the cider so much that we'll even drink this one sans bourbon. If, however, you'd like to make the drink adults-only, stir in 4 ounces of whiskey to the strained cider, along with a little extra sugar for balance.
Get the recipe
Photo: Ramona King
Wassail
Wassail, a traditional warm holiday punch, combines lager, dark rum, lemon juice and ginger. The name means "be in good health." It is associated with New Year's celebrations and with the Christmas traditions of caroling or "wassailing." most famously in the Christmas carol "The Wassail Song." In the song, the "wassail" refers to good wishes, not to the beverage, but tradition has it that carolers might hope to be rewarded with a bowl of wassail to drink.
Get the recipe
And for that mulled cider: Stoneware & Co. mugs
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cider, hot toddies and other warm drinks are all even more enjoyable when sipped out of this hand-crafted cylindrical mug from Stoneware & Co. Made with the simple, clean lines of the Louisville Pottery Collection, each mug has stay-cool handles lovingly applied by hand.
Get the mug
Photo: Maura Friedman
Charleston Breakfast Coffee
This warming cocktail from columnist Jerry Slater is a Southerner's take on Irish coffee, richer and more grain-forward in flavor, with a bonus of being made with local whiskey. Feel free to adapt the recipe below to suit your coffee and whiskey preferences — you are, after all, the crafter of your coffee cocktail.
Get the recipe
Photo: Jerry Slater
Anne Byrn's Hot Spiced Wine
This hot spiced wine, from award winning cookbook author Anne Byrn, is a quick and tasty way to turn a simple bottle of red wine on your shelf into a holiday punch. Let the mulling spices perfume the orange juice and water, and then add the red wine. Heat, but don't boil. Pour into cut-glass punch cups and serve with plenty of citrus slices.
Get the recipe
Photo: Danielle Atkins
Simple Hot Toddy
Simple is best when it comes to a soul-warming hot toddy. In fact, we like our toddies so simple, we barely need a recipe. First, combine about two ounces (or two fingers) or bourbon or rye whiskey with a squirt of honey in your favorite mug. Heat a kettle of water to a boil and then pour it over the whiskey, stirring to dissolve the honey. Finally, add a slice of lemon on top, and a few dashes of bitters if you'd like, and you're ready to drink. (Maybe let it cool for a minute first.)
Photo: L.A. Foodie/Flickr (license)