Cocktails to Keep You Warm This Winter

Perfect for a walk in the snow or a night by the fire!

Today was a bitterly cold day on Prouts Neck and so what better way to think about warming up than to daydream about some of the delightful winter cocktails I plan on making this winter.  With the holiday season upon us, I know plenty of us will have to think of creative ways to keep their guests entertained and warm.  So with that, here's a jump start on your party planning with four winter cocktails that are sure to keep your blood warm and your spirits high.

BPI Irish Coffee

 

Garnish: Crème de Menthe Whipped Cream

Ingredients: 

•      1 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
•      1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
•      Coffee
•      Whipped Cream (Garnish)
•      ¼ oz Crème de Menthe (Garnish) – Preferably Green

Pour your Jameson and Bailey’s into your mug and then fill the mug with coffee until about three quarters of the way full.  Give the liquid a gentle stir and then top the cocktail with whipped cream.  For an added effect, you might want to try to add some Crème de Menthe onto the whipped cream.  I go with the “green” version of Crème de Menthe because (wait for it) it’s an Irish Coffee.  Either way, if you use white or green, it’ll have the same taste but just not the same visual effect.  The easiest way to pour Crème de Menthe onto your cocktail without making a huge mess is to use a bar pourer and cover the top with your thumb so that only a small amount of the liqueur will drip out from the bottle.  If this isn’t an option, that’s fine, just use the same “thumb” method and place some paper towels under your cocktail, just in case you make a mess. 

Hint:  If you like the idea of this cocktail but want to try something a little bit simpler, you can make a really delicious hot chocolate cocktail using the same glassware and whipped cream trick.  Just add 1 ½ oz of Crème de Menthe to a mug of hot chocolate, top with whipped cream and Crème de Menthe drizzle and voila, you have the cocktail version of an Andes mint, right in your glass.

White Cranberry Cosmopolitan

Garnish: 3 Frozen Cranberries

Ingredients:  

•      1 ½ oz Smirnoff Cranberry Vodka
•      ½ oz Cointreau
•      1 oz Lime Juice
•      1 oz White Cranberry Juice
•      Frozen Cranberries (Garnish)

For this recipe, go ahead and combine your choice of Cranberry Vodka, Cointreau, Lime Juice and White Cranberry Juice into a shaker with ice and shake well.  Strain liquid into a chilled martini glass and garnish with 3 frozen cranberries.  This cocktail is definitely a hit as it is quite similar to your normal “cosmopolitan” cocktail but has a few interesting tweaks to make it a perfect companion for a winter night.

Lemongrass Hot Toddy

Yields: 2 Servings

Glassware: Glass or Ceramic Mug

Garnish: Lemon Wedge

 Ingredients:

•      2 Tazo Zen Tea Bags
•      1 ½ Cup Water
•      1 ½ oz Bourbon
•      2 oz Lemon Juice
•      ½ oz Honey
•      2 Lemon Wedges (Garnish)

When making a Hot Toddy, some of the fun is just picking out a great tea flavor to infuse into your cocktail.  My favorite choice is Tazo’s “Zen” which is a green tea with lemongrass, spearmint and a hint of lemon.  The lemongrass, spearmint, honey and bourbon flavors tie together really nicely making a good “sitting by the fire” cocktail.  Put water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Remove the saucepan from heat and add in the two tea bags and cover.  Allow the tea to steep for 3-5 minutes and then add in your lemon juice and honey to the saucepan.  In your mugs, pour your bourbon and then top with your tea mixture.  Garnish your mug with a lemon wedge and then drink up!

Hint:  Want to try something different?  Try this same recipe with a different type of tea flavor.  I’m really partial to Tazo Tea so I suggest trying Tazo’s “Earl Grey”, “Chai” and “Calm.”

Winter Sangria

Yields: 4 Servings

Glassware: Wine Glass

Garnish: Sugared Rosemary Sprig

Ingredients:  

·        1 Granny Smith Apple, Chopped

·        1 Red Apple, Chopped

·        1 Cup Fresh Cranberries

·        1 Sprig of Rosemary

·        1 Bottle Pinot Grigio – Your choice

·        ½ Cup White Grape Juice

·        ¼ Cup White Sugar

·        1 Can Club Soda

·        ½ Cup Granulated Sugar (Garnish)

·        4 Rosemary Sprigs (Garnish)

The beauty of sangria is that it’s easy to make as it only requires you to combine all of your ingredients and let them sit together to infuse.  Feel free to play around with the ingredients above a little if you’d like, sangria is really easy to manipulate.  For this sangria recipe, I’m borrowing Jerry James Stone’s which looked so great I had to give it a shot!  To make this recipe, you’re going to want to combine all of the above ingredients into a large pitcher or bowl and mix well until the sugar dissolves.  Then refrigerate your sangria for about an hour before you intend to serve it.  Serve this cocktail in a wine glass with a good heaping of the fruit directly from the infusion.

For the garnish for this drink, take a sprig of rosemary and lightly wet it with water.  Shake off the excess water and then roll the rosemary in about ½ cup of granulated sugar.  Repeat for the other three glasses and then place each sugarcoated sprig into the wine glass, letting it emerge from the cocktail.  Beautiful!

As always, remember to enjoy responsibly!