7 Hot Cocktails to Warm You Up This Winter

Winter is here, the wind is whipping, and depending on where you live, they may even be snow swirling. There’s nothing like a nice, hot beverage to take the chill off a cold day. So I hit the internet in search of the most delicious hot cocktails I could find. My research paid off and I have 7 hot cocktails for you that’ll definitely keep the chill at bay.

Hot Buttered Bourbon

I got this recipe from How Sweet Eats. After looking at several hot buttered bourbon recipes, I went with this one as it allows you to make one cocktail at a time vs. an entire batch. I like the flexibility of making as many cocktails as needed with this approach. Plus having the spiced butter as a separate component means I get to experiment with it.😊

Making the butter:

Blend butter with spices until well combined with a hand mixer. Once thoroughly mixed, place in a container & store in the fridge.

Making the cocktail: 

3.  of spiced

Another thing I like about this recipe is it’s highly customizable. You can add more of less butter, bourbon, or water to better suit your taste.

Mulled Wine

Last month, I discovered a quick & simple version of mulled wine on my own through one of my many experiments with chai. However, I’ve never had the traditional version, so this recipe from Gimme Some Oven called to me. This is the perfect cocktail for family functions as it’s surprisingly mild. Even though I did my best to keep the heat low, I think I burned off some of the alcohol content in the cooking process. But it’s still delicious and warming. If you want really want to amp up the volume, I would suggest adding the brandy right before serving.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle red wine
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 8 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 2 to 4 tablespoon maple syrup (or your desired sweetener) to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir to combine.
2. Simmer mixture on medium-high heat, being careful to not let it boil
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let the mixture simmer for at least 15 minutes (or up to 3 hours)
4. Once cooked the desired time, strain mixture into serving vessel. Add additional sweetener if desired

Spiked Apple Cider

Of course, I couldn’t do a warm cocktail feature and not include the classic that is spiked apple cider. You can always do a super simple version of this by mixing your spirit of choice (rum, bourbon, or brandy) with your favorite cider (homemade or store brought). However, I had a little time on my hands and I decided to try out Joyfully Healthy Eats recipe as it seems a bit more festive and spirited. I made a few changes, so check out the link for the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon unfiltered apple juice or apple cider
• 1 large orange, cut into slices
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice
• 1.5  cups spiced rum

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and spices in a large pot
2. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce and simmer covered for 2-3 hours
3. Strain cider and add rum.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Warm Rum Punch

While browsing recipes, I came across this one from Searching for Imperfection & knew I had to try it.

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider
• Cranberry Juice Cocktail
• Fresh cranberries
• Pomegranate
• Orange- sliced
• Cinnamon stick
• Dash of ground clove
• Dash of nutmeg
• Dash of cinnamon
• Spiced Rum

Directions:

1. In a pot, add cider and cranberry juice using a 2:1 ratio
2. Add in a few good handfuls of cranberries, pomegranate seeds, squeeze oranges and add them in
3. Add in spices and stir
4. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes
5. Strain punch and serve

Old Blind Duck

I was on the lookout for a coffee cocktail, when I came across this recipe courtesy of Town & Country. It’s pretty simple and flavorful. Which is always a good thing when it comes breakfast cocktails. I made mine a little different than the original recipe, as I got a little confused 😊. But it still turned out well.

Ingredients:

• 6 oz hot coffee
• 3 oz Knob Creek Bourbon
• 1 oz cream
• 1 oz maple syrup
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• a splash of vanilla

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients above to coffee
2. Stir to combine
3. If desired, froth heavy cream to float on top, sprinkle with sugar and gently torch to carmelize
4. Enjoy

These last two cocktails are quite rich and decadent. I think they are best served as dessert cocktails to be enjoyed after a meal.

Spiked & Spicy Hot Chocolate

I’ve never had a spiked hot chocolate as I don’t usually mix alcohol with high sugary drinks. However, this spicy hot chocolate recipe from A Cocktail Life looked too good to pass on.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 oz. mil chocolate
• 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 TSP light brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 1.5 Spiced rum
• Marshmallows for garnish

Directions:

1. Add the milk, sugar and chocolate to a small pot on low heat
2. Stir constantly until the chocolate and sugar dissolve
3. Whisk in the spices.
4. Remove from the heat, stir in the rum and pour into a mug or glass.
5. Add marshmallows if desired, enjoy

Drunken Snowman

This is a really fun cocktail to make. And if you can create perfectly round scoops of ice cream, it really does look like a melted snowman.  And you already know I can’t make good ice cream scoops, but the drink still had the desired affect.😊 Thanks to I Am Baker for sharing this creative cocktail.

Ingredients:

• white chocolate, melted (for dipping the rim)
• milk chocolate shavings for garnish
• vanilla ice cream
• 2 cups hot chocolate
• 1/2 cup Baileys
• 1 cup whipped cream

Directions:

1. Melt white chocolate and dip rims of mug
2. Immediately either dip or sprinkle milk chocolate shavings onto the rim
3. Add 2-3 scoops of ice cream to mug
4. Pour in hot chocolate and Baileys on top of the ice cream
5. Top with whipped cream and any extra milk chocolate shavings

And here you are. 7 delicious hot cocktails to help keep you warm this winter.  I do hope you enjoy. Stay spirited!