favorite 'winter' drinks?

[Graphix]

what are your favorite cocktails for the winter months? what interesting things have you seen bars doing on their winter cocktail lists?

[RPMcMurphy]

Cocktail bar I frequent is doing an apple buttered rhum drink served hot, hot toddys.

[lostmyshape]

when the weather gets cold, i start to crave a whiskey skin. use a good islay and the steam coming off the mug makes the whole house smell like a salty breeze coming off the sea (or iodine, as my wife insists).

also, mulled apple cider (the brown non-alcoholic kind that comes in gallon milk jugs that you can get all over the east coast), with a generous shot of homemade rock and rye. why can't you get cider on the west coast (just moved there)?

[Maitre D'Hell]

I like to switch to darker, more complex spirits when the weather gets cold out. A good dram of smoky scotch or mezcal does wonders to warm cold bones. Of course, a nice Grand Marnier or Sambuca with a strong, dark roast black coffee also does the trick!

As mixed drinks go, we serve a version of the White Russian made with coconut cream...tastes like a toasted marshmallow!

[KatieLoeb]

I love a good Sidecar (either with Cognac, Calvados or aged Applejack) when it gets cooler out. If I'm in the mood for something sweet then a hot cider with hooch-of-my-choosing or a hot cocoa with something sweet in it. Hot cocoa with Amaretto (Luxardo is my fave) or Cointreau is delicious. Anything that tastes good as a candy bar can be converted to liquid form if you just think about the flavors. If you like Mounds bars then add Malibu rum to your cocoa. If you're an Almond Joy fan then add some Amaretto as well. Peppermint Pattys? Add some peppermint schnapps to your hot cocoa. The possibilities are virtually endless.

[thirtyoneknots]

Second the Whisky Skin

Add to that de la Louisianes, Sazeracs, Widow's Kisses, probably East Indias as well... more or less any dark spirit cocktail with some richness.

[amccomb]

mulled wine! mmm....

[birder53]

Manhattans, Sazeracs and Bella Donna.

[mkayahara]

At this time of year, especially in the run-up to Christmas, I really like a Stinger.

[newbie21]

I'll second the Sazeracs and Widow's Kiss...yummy and warmmm!!

[johnder]

I am a big fan of sidecars in the winter. Hold the sugared rim please.

[Wild Bill Turkey]

I'm still tinkering with my "Noël" , a cross between the Alexander and Widow's Kiss

1 1/2 ozs apple brandy

1 oz Bénédictine

1 oz cream

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake hard, double strain, top w/ground nutmeg

(this can also be made splitting the ounce of Bénédictine into 1/2oz Bénédictine, 1/2 oz St. E's Allspice Dram)

[brinza]

For me, a good Winter drink is anything brown and served neat. Preferably Scotch.

[Alchemist]

Just pulled out some of my favorite winter drinks. It is always a challenge to find a gin drink that is good when the mercury starts to drop. Then there is the rich stuff, egg yolk or whole egg. And then the Brown and Stirred.

20th Century

1.5 oz Plymouth Gin

.75 oz White Crème de Cacao

.75 oz Lillet Blonde

.75 oz Lemon Juice

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: None

Ice: None

Shake. Strain. Serve up.

41 Jane Doe’s

1 oz Laird’s Applejack

1 oz Rothman & Winter Pear Liqueur

.75 oz Lemon Juice

.75 oz Simple Syrup

1 Egg White

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: 7 drops Grandma’s Tinksure

Ice: None

Mime shake. Add KD ice. Shake. Strain. Serve up.

The Berliner

1.5 oz Bombay Dry Gin

.75 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur

.25 oz Gilka Kummel

.5 oz lemon juice

.25 oz Simple Syrup (Fat)

1 Egg Yolk

15 drops Regan's Orange Bitters

Glass: Collins

Garnish: Lemon Twist, 9 Drops Angostura Bitters

Ice: Crushed Ice ¾ Full

Mime shake. Add KD. Shake hard 3-5 times. Strained onto fresh crushed ice.

Chapuline

1 oz Crème de Cacao White

.5 oz Crème de Menthe Green

1.0 oz Pisco

1 oz Heavy Cream

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: Float 1 mint leaf then spank the mint

Ice: None

Shake Hard. Stain. Serve up.

Irish Pirate

2 oz Red Breast Irish Whiskey

.25 oz Demerara Syrup

9 drops Ango Bitters

Rinse: Sailor Jerry’s Rum

Glass: Rocks

Garnish: None

Ice: Chunk

Rinse Sailor Jerry’s. Add rest of the ingredients. Stir to incorporate demerara. Add chunk ice. Stir.

Yum,

Drinking in the winter is so very, very different to the summer cocktails.

Toby

[thirtyoneknots]

Great list, but pray tell what is

Garnish: 7 drops Grandma’s Tinksure

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?

Also here to report that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Snowshoe from Dr. Cocktail's latest Imbibe column, even with cheap DeKuyper Peppermint schnapps a friend gave you a few years ago when he was moving away. Mmmm.

ETA: Nothing wrong with the Schnapps so long as it's 100 proof, that is. I guess the same goes for most spirits.

Edited December 8, 2008 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[philadining]

Since it started snowing, I've been craving a Réveillon.

Thanks to Nick at Apothecary in Philly for poisoning my mind with this obsession...

[KatieLoeb]

I am a big fan of sidecars in the winter.  Hold the sugared rim please.

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Amen to holding the sugar. I'm right there with you on that one....

[Amarantha]

Ooo, I haven't tried it without the sugar. You'd think my non-sweet-toothed self would have thought of that by now. *makes mental note to do so* The last one I ordered in a bar arrived with the rim only sugared on one half, which happily gives the drinker the choice.

I've just finished a rather satisfying Virgin Mary, which seems like it would be a great winter drink. (I'd normally do it with chilli vodka, but I have a head cold. Which is a bloody shame, really )

Hey, my sig will be topical for this one...

[thirtyoneknots]

Tried out the Irish Pirate with different brands tonight after work and can endorse it as just the thing.

Still curious about what that Grandmas Tinksure (tincture?) is.

[Tristan Stephenson]

Wassail (like mulled cider) is a must for winter.

[freshherbs]

i've been making what i call a "winter spice rum old-fashioned"

2 parts Ron Zacapa 23

.75 winter spice simple (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg)

muddle a half orange-moon and a dash of ango bitters

add simple, rum, ice

stir, savor

[jackal10]

Whisky Mac

[Alcuin]

I've been drinking hot toddies:

3 oz boiling water

2 oz Laphroig 10y

1 t demerara

My mom used to always burn piney, smokey incense during Christmas to compliment the smell of the tree. Instead of that, I've been drinking these hot toddies that sweeten the air with their smokiness and combine with the scent of the tree: instant nostalgia.

[butterscotch]

  a hot cocoa with something sweet in it. 

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Katie, Have you tried a nice shot of scotch in hot chocolate? it actually gives it a tats of caramel/ butterscotch. good stuff!

[Darienne]

Very unsophisticated here. Named after our farm.

Road's End Farm Coffee (affectionately called a Frothy Coffee)

hot decaf coffee, cocoa mix (the supermarket kind with sugar in it), and a jigger mixed of vodka and a liqueuer, or a jigger of just liqueur. Might include Panama Jack, Grand Marnier, Chambord...whatever you like.

Dump into the blender and froth to the max.

Into a huge blue glass mug. Yumm.

(We make the same coffee with cold decaf coffee in the summer, with the addition of some ice cubes.