The average temperatures in Toronto are dipping into the below-freezing territory. The sun sets before you’re finished the day at work. And last week’s energetic first snowfall has brought us into the winter. Yes, it’s abundantly clear that the margarita season has long since past.
Fret not, though, because there are a number of classic, easy-to-make recipes for hot drinks to keep yourself warm at night indoors.
A few tips for making hot drinks: first, you can use a ceramic mug just like for coffee and tea, but a heat-resistant glass mug is useful, especially for added visual flare. Make sure, however, to warm the glasses with some hot water from the tap for a few minutes. It keeps the drink warm for a longer period of time, and avoids cracks due to temperature shocks.
Secondly: many of these recipes call for hot or boiled water. It’s best to let the water cool down for a few minutes after just boiling – if it’s too hot it will scald any liquors in the drink, ruining the flavours. And you don’t want to burn your tongue while enjoying these libations to begin with, do you?
Third: don’t use the fanciest wine or spirits in your cupboard for these drinks. They’re meant to add some warmth and flavour, and the complex tasting notes of your vintage red or 15-year-old Scotch will simply disappear beneath the other ingredients.
All of these recipes are taken or adapted from the Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich.
Hot Buttered Rum
Add 1 tablespoon brown sugar to 4 ounces hot water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add 2 ounces dark or golden rum, then float 1 tablespoon of butter on the top. You can sprinkle some nutmeg over the top.
An everyday dark rum like Appleton Estate Reserve will do just fine, but for something a little more complex try using the hilariously branded Kraken Dark Spiced Rum to really sweeten the pot. For a richer alternative, try using heated or steamed milk in place of the water.
Irish Coffee
Add 1.5 ounces of Irish whiskey and 1 tablespoon brown sugar to a heated glass mug. A cheaper blend like Jameson or Bushmill’s Original is best – keep the Connemara Peated Single Malt as far away as possible. Pour 5 to 6 ounces of hot coffee – make sure it isn’t boiling hot, otherwise you’ll scald the whiskey! The slowly add cold whipped cream to the top. It should float on the coffee, forming its own layer.
Do not mix the cream and the coffee! You’re supposed to drink the hot coffee through the cool layer of cream. Do not used whipped cream from a bottle – whip your own 35% whipping cream either with an automatic mixer or, if you’re feeling particularly sadistic, a plain old whisk.
If the resulting drink tastes too strong, try adding more brown sugar to the mix. For those feeling adventurous, half an ounce of either Irish Mist or Drambuie liqueur adds heather and honey notes. Bars on St. Partick’s Day may add a splash of green crme de menthe to the cream layer.
Hot Toddy
The hot toddy is more medicinal than the previous drinks: The Globe and Mail’s Beppi Crosarial likens it to “NeoCitran with alcohol in place of the pharmaceuticals.”
First, take a slice of lemon and stick three whole cloves into the rind. Take care not to spike your own fingers with the cloves. Add 1 tablespoon brown sugar, a pinch of grated nutmeg, and 1.5 ounces of any brown spirit. Rum, brandy, or bourbon are all acceptable here, but for the regional tip of the hat, try using a Canadian whisky like Gibson’s Finest 12 Year Old, or Kittling Ridge’s Forty Creek Barrel Select. Pour in 6 ounces boiled water, and stir with a cinnamon stick. Leave the stick as a garnish.
Mulled Wine
Recipes for this heated mix of (usually) red wine, fruits and spices have been around for centuries. Many permutations of the drink can be found in Europe; Germans know it as Glhwein, and Glgg in Sweden and Norway for example – with endless variations in what kind of wines and spices are used.
Our recipe uses an Argentinian, Finca Flinchman Misterio Malbec. At only $8.25 a bottle at the LCBO, it’s a perfect cheap red to dump into your stovepot. On its own it’s a light and fruity, if unexciting wine, but these qualities make it an excellent base for mulling.
Add 2 bottles of the malbec to a large pot. For seasoning, add cup of brown sugar, 12 whole cloves, 4 cinnamon sticks, the zest of one orange and one lemon, cut intro strips. Bring to a simmer, then continue to heat until the flavours are infused into the wine, about 10 minutes.
Other well-cited ingredients include vanilla pods, anise star or ginger. If you want to increase the sweetness, try adding half a cup of ruby port. If you just want to booze up the mix, half a cup of brandy can do it astonishingly well.
