Warming Drinks

By Food & Wine
Updated February 27, 2017
Credit: © Tina Rupp
From apple-brandy hot toddies to mulled red wine, here are superb warming drinks.
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Hot Spiced Wine

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Red wine and kirsch (a brandy made from cherries) are the base for this delicious seasonal drink, which is laced with citrus and warming spices like cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper.

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Tante's Medicine

Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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At the time she was preparing her bar menu, mixologist Molly Finnegan felt under the weather and uninspired. After a 2 a.m. brainstorming session, this sensational hot toddy improved both her cold and her drink list.

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Superrich Hot Chocolate with Coconut Cream

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Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson created this ultrarich hot chocolate topped with coconut cream for his partner Bobby Stuckey’s wife, Danette, who has a sweet tooth. “At Frasca, we make a lot of desserts with chocolate or coconut, so we just kept going and came up with this drink,” says Lachlan.

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Apple-Brandy Hot Toddies

Credit: © Rob Howard
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A hot toddy is basically a shot or two of any potent spirit added to a cup of hot water. Suzanne Bozarth puts a French spin on this warming drink with a slug of apple brandy, such as Calvados.

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Peppermint Paddy

Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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Mixologist Todd Thrasher loves reproducing the flavors of classic candies in cocktails. The Peppermint Paddy is his take on his wife Maria’s favorite guilty pleasure.

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Hot Mulled Cider

Credit: © Keller & Keller
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Ken Oringer preheats the Thermos he uses to transport his deliciously spiced cider by filling it with boiling water and letting it sit for a few minutes. Pouring the mulled cider into a Thermos that’s already warm helps keep the drink hot.

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Hot Chocolate with Rum

Credit: © James Merrell
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Gaelic Punch

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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For hot punches, young Irish whiskeys work best. Heat intensifies the tannic edge of older whiskeys; young ones stay smooth.

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Warm Churros and Hot Chocolate

Credit: PHOTO © TINA RUPP
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Chef Andrew Zimmerman grew up eating fluffy donuts in New Jersey, but now he favors churros—hot, crispy fried Spanish crullers. Zimmerman pipes the dough into a ribbed spiral, then coats the churros in crunchy sugar and cinnamon. They’re perfect for dipping into hot chocolate.

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Mulled Red Wine with Muscovado Sugar

Credit: Terry Monk
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Faced with two half-empty bottles of Zinfandel, Marcia Kieselcame up with this warm mulled wine, spiced with fennel seeds and cinnamon.

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Double-Chocolate Hot Chocolate

Credit: © Ditte Isager
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Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito firmly believe that homemade hot chocolate is superior to any commercial mix. They make their decadent version with both bittersweet and milk chocolate and then top it with marshmallows that they make and sell at Baked.

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Caffè Di Alpi

Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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Bartender Steve Peters dreamed up Caffè di Alpi (“Alpine Coffee” in Italian) as a deliciously warming après-ski drink.

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Hot Buttered Lemon

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Sebastian Reaburn loves lemon and butter together (“they’re yummy and rich”), and this drink is one of his favorite incarnations of the pairing. “It’s like a hot buttered rum mixed with a lemon tart. The citrus pieces get softened by the heat and mellowed by the sugar and butter; they’re delicious to nibble on at the end of the drink.” Reaburn sometimes varies the Hot Buttered Lemon by adding cloves and fresh ginger, which give it “a little zing.”

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Snowstorm Café

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Bartender Denis Côté created this drink as a warmer-upper for guests who’ve just returned from skiing or snowboarding on Aspen Mountain, which is right outside the lounge.

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