It’s snowing. And it’s cold. You are just as keen leaving the house to go to a bar as you are on cleaning up to wellcome friends at home. So in winter we “kill four birds with one stone”: we meet our friends outside even in the cold season, and we have winter cocktails in our basket. Here are our eleven favourite warm cocktails that convince not only in taste, but also with their simple preparation. Cheers!
The best recipes for warm cocktails in winter time
Freezing outside with over-sugared mulled wine from the supermarket is history! In winter, we look forward to long winter walks with our besties, bringing along Hot Toddies, Cranberry Punch with Coconut Cream and Hot Gin and Juice in a thermos. Cheers!
Pumpkin Scotch Latte
Did anybody order a PSL? Let’s have it as a cocktail! The Scotch whisky is discreetly in the background here and rounds off this winter cocktail very softly.
Ingredients
- 50 ml Whisky, e.g. Glenmorangie Original
- 50 ml Espresso
- 50 ml Pumpkin Spice Syrup, e.g. from Monin
- 100 ml hot milk
- milk foam
Decoration: a slice of orange dusted with cinnamon
Preparation: Put all the ingredients in a heatproof glass or cup and stir well. Garnish with milk foam and a thin slice of orange dusted with cinnamon.
Golden Hot Toddy
The Hot Toddy is the classic British winter cocktail. Prepared similarly to a grog, this cocktail is perfected with simple homemade honey syrup.
Ingredients:
- 50 ml Scotch Whisky e.g. Aberfeldy 12 Year Old
- 15 ml honey syrup (for this, simply mix hot water and honey in equal parts until the honey has dissolved).
- 20 ml lemonjuice
- Spices to taste: – 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg, 6 cloves,
1 lemon slice, 1 star anise, 1/2 vanilla pod
Preparation: Place the ingredients in a heatproof glas and stir together until well combined. Garnish with cinnamon stick and lemon and enjoy!
Baked Apple Hot Cider
The baked apple hot cider tastes nice and fruity – for all those who find mulled wine, rum and gin too heavy.
- Apple Cider e.g. Somersby Apple Cider
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cl Amaretto
Preparation: Heat the cider in a closed pot, add the amaretto and the cinnamon stick … and ready is your baked apple hot cider.
Milky Master
Winter and tea are a crystal-clear match. The fact that you can refine the hot tea with cream liqueur comes in handy in winter.
Ingredients
- 180 ml Oolong Tee, e.g. from Avoury
- 20 ml cream liqueur, e.g. Amarula Vanilla Spice
Preparation: Make the tea fresh and mix in the cream liqueur. Also good “on the rocks”!
Hot Gin and Juice
Even Snoop Dogg rapped about “Gin & Juice”! And – he inspired us, because we’re drinking the warm winter version of the cocktail.
Ingredients
- 50 ml Gin, e.g. from Niemand
- 150 ml alcohol free punch, e.g. Voelkel Hygge Punsch Apfel-Blaubeere
- Winter seasoning (star-anice, cinnamon stick)
- Decoration: skewered apple slices
Preparation: Heat and mix all the ingredients, garnish with the apple slices.
Cranberry-Punsch with Coconut-Creme
Admittedly, this warm cocktail is a little more elaborate, but it makes a real impact! That is why the recipe is calculated for 4 people.
Ingredients for the punch
- 500 ml water
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 3 star anise
- 2 bags black tea
- Orange zest and juice of one organic orange
- 500 ml Cranberry-Juice, e.g. Beckers Bester
- 200 ml Apple-Juice
Ingredients for the coconut cream
- 200 ml cream
- 1⁄2 sachet vanilla sugar
- 3 tablespoon coconut-liquer, e.g. Mangaroca Batida de Côco
- Decoration: 8 thyme twigs and 4-6 star anise
Preparation: Bring the water, sugar and spices to the boil in a saucepan. Add the black tea and infuse for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bag, add the orange, cranberry and apple juice and leave to infuse for a further five minutes over a low heat – do not boil!
In the meantime, whip the cream with the vanilla sugar and add the coconut liqueur. Pour the punch through a sieve to filter out the spices and pour into glasses. Just before serving, garnish with the cream, thyme sprigs and star anise if desired.
Bailey’s Hot Chocolate Sparklers
Who can say NO to hot chocolate and Baileys? – We certainly can’t, especially because we can really go over the top with decorations!
- 40 ml Irish Cream Liquer, e.g. Baileys (for a twist, Baileys is now also available in Tiramisu flavour).
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 80 ml milk
Decorate as desired (more is more here): whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate biscuits, chocolate cake, chocolate sauce, sparkler
Preparation: Mix the cocoa powder and milk to make a hot chocolate. Pour into a mug and add the cream liqueur. Garnish generously: Whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate shavings … more is simply best here! Glittering finale is a sparkler that should stick in the whipped cream without any problems. Enjoy!
Hot Aperol
Our favorite aperitif in warm! This warm winter cocktail becomes exotic with pineapple-mango juice.
- 1 organic orange
- 1 piece of ginger
- 500 ml white wine
- 200 ml Orange-Juice
- 100 ml Pineapple-Mango-Juice
- 150 ml italien Aperitif-Liquer, e.g. Aperol
Preparation: Rinse the orange in hot water, pat dry and cut a slice approx. 1 cm thick for each glas. Peel and slice the ginger. Pour white wine, juices and Aperol in a pot and heat to about 80 degrees. Heat for 5 minutes. Divide the orange and ginger slices between the glasses. Pour hot Aperol mixture in glasses, garnish with washed rosemary sprigs and add straws.
Hot Mulled Rum
Apple punch with rum not only sounds delicious, but also tastes like it! This recipe, is a breeze to make!
Ingredients
- 250 ml Rum e.g. Santa Teresa 1796 Rum
- 500 ml organic Apple-Juice
- 50 ml sugar syrup
- Zest of a whole organic orange
- Spices to taste: 6 cloves, 4 cinnamon sticks, 2 star anise, 8 allspice berries, 1 vanilla pod, 1 dried chilli (optional)
Preparation: Put the liquid ingredients in a saucepan and stir until everything is well mixed. Add the spices and heat over a low heat for 15 minutes. Serve in a heatproof glass or mug and garnish with orange zest and a cinnamon stick.
Fireside Mule
This wintry cocktail has plenty of tinder in the form of ginger beer. And thanks to the apple and lemon juice, it also doesn’t taste too sweet.
- 50 ml Whisky, e.g. Glenmorangie Original
- 125 ml Ginger Beer von Thomas Henry
- 25 ml fresh lemonjuice
- 25 ml Apple-Juice
- Some sugar, a dash of Angostura Bitter
- Decoration: Ginger biscuit
Preparation: Gently heat all the ingredients in a saucepan, do not allow to boil, then transfer to a heatproof glass cup.
Hot Buttered Rum
Warm rum should of course be enjoyed with caution! But one glass tastes quite excellent.
- 200 ml brown rum
- 100 ml hot water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 5 small slices of butter
- Lemon peel
Preparation: Pour all the ingredients in a cooking pot. Heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Leave to infuse for five to ten minutes. Carefully pour hot water into a glass or cup and warm the glass for about five minutes. Then pour away the water and pour the rum and tea mixture into the glass or cup. Garnish with cinnamon stick and lemon zest.
Editor’s tip: The perfect place to mix cocktails: the +STAGE bar from Poggenpohl.
