Time to curl up by the fire...with some booze!
I love hot cocktails because it feels like the cold weather gives me an excuse, no, an imperitive…to drink them. I may not be stranded in the snow waiting for a St. Bernard to rescue me from certain hypothermia, but it’s still nippy out there and after a day spent Christmas shopping I do kind of wish our dog would greet me at the door with a hot toddy. Since that’s unlikely to happen given our dog’s limited repertoire of tricks, I’ll just have to make my own.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
1.) Hot Buttered Rum: (recipe via Food Network)
Img: via Suzanne Brown Blogspot
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- Pinch ground cloves
- Pinch salt
- Bottle dark rum
- Boiling water
Directions
In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs. Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.
2.) Hot Toddy: (recipe from Jamie Oliver)
Img: via Warm Kitten Blogspot
Ingredients
- 1.3 litres (2 pints) milk
- 4 tablespoons malt powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3, 4 or 6 shots whisky
- 2 vanilla pods, scored and the seeds scraped out
Directions
Heat up the milk and whisk in the malt, sugar to taste, whisky, vanilla seeds and pods. Whisk up, then, if you have a cappuccino frother, whiz up to make some lovely froth.
3.) Irish Coffee: (recipe from Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin Ireland)
Img: via Wikipedia
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 jigger Irishwhiskey (1 1/2 ounces or 3 tablespoons)
- Heavy cream, slightly whipped
Directions
Fill footed mug or a mug with hot water to preheat it, then empty. Pour piping hot coffee into warmed glass until it is about 3/4 full. Add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Blend in Irish whiskey. Top with a collar of the whipped heavy cream by pouring gently over back of spoon. Serve hot.
4.) Peppermint Patty Hot Toddy: (recipe from The Nest)
Img: The Nest
Ingredients
- 1 oz. peppermint schnapps
- ½ oz. créme de cacao
- 1 tsp. créme de menthe
- 5 to 8 oz. hot chocolate
- About 1 oz. whipped cream
- Shaved chocolate
Directions
Pour liqueurs into a glass mug, fill with hot chocolate and top with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings.
5.) Godiva Peppermint Kiss: (recipe from Godiva)
Img: via Godiva
This is the easiest one. And I’m totally sneaking it in because it’s not a hot cocktail. But it’s easy and if you drink enough of them you won’t feel the cold anyway. Godiva liquor is the best, but another chocolate liquor will do as well.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Godiva® chocolate liqueur
- 1/2 oz peppermint liqueur
Stir over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
