17 Winter Drinks To Keep You Warm This Holiday Season
We've all got a list of go-to drinks to sip on when the winter chill starts to set in (think: your classic hot toddy, marshmallow-filled hot chocolate, or favorite seasonal Starbucks offering), but even though you may have been waiting all year to tuck into your favorite cold weather warmers, it wouldn't come as a surprise if, after a few weeks, you start craving something new.
To help keep you warm without hitting a beverage rut, Tasting Table rounded up our top cold-weather drink recipes. Some of the beverages we've listed here are creative twists on old favorites, while others dare you to push outside your comfort zone. A few of these drinks are customizable and can even be made without alcohol for the kids or anyone who chooses not to imbibe! (Although, naturally, flavors are likely to change when ingredients are substituted or taken away.)
We think it's worth giving these new and notable drinks a shot — you never know, your new favorite winter warmer could be just around the corner.
Warm And Cozy Hot Toddy
A popular way to treat the common cold, per Vinepair, the hot toddy is a winter weather must, even if you're not feeling a tickle in your throat or starting to sniffle.
Sure to help you keep the winter chill at bay, our recipe keeps it traditional with whiskey, tea, honey, and lemon. You can always garnish with the optional cinnamon stick or lemon wedge, but no need to get fancy if you prefer to keep it straightforward.
Recipe: Warm And Cozy Hot Toddy
Spiced Grand Marnier Hot Chocolate
The combination of orange and chocolate is a magical one, and that is precisely what our Spiced Grand Marnier Hot Chocolate delivers.
We start with a rich cocoa base and add a range of spices — including chile pepper, cinnamon, peppercorns, and allspice — before finishing with a generous shot of citrusy Grand Marnier. Finish with whipped cream and a sprinkling of chile powder to turn this delectable drink into a picture-perfect one.
The Stowaway
There are many reasons to love chai, which marries cinnamon and cardamom with strong black tea leaves to give you a warming, spiced kick.
The Stowaway cocktail takes chai's comforting cold-weather flavors and adds vanilla, honey, and lemon, as well as spiced rum to make this boozy tea the perfect way to keep warm all winter long.
Recipe: The Stowaway
Slow Cooker Mulled Cider
Apple cider is virtually synonymous with fall and winter months, and this particular beverage spiked with cloves, allspice, juniper berries, cardamom, and cinnamon is guaranteed to deliver a warming, spicy kick with every sip.
Because it's made in a slow cooker, this recipe is a no-fail way of preparing the drink for parties, when you might be too busy to mind the stove. Just remember to give yourself a head start, because it needs four hours of simmering time.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Mulled Cider
Wooster's Garden Hot Toddy
Mixing blood orange juice with Campari, gin, and vermouth, our Wooster's Garden Hot Toddy offers a drink that is both warming and refreshing.
The drink has an extra element of surprise, thanks to the addition of a rich creme de cacao, which can often be found in drinks like the minty Grasshopper and chocolate martinis. While you're unlikely to have ever sipped a hot toddy like this one, we promise you won't regret mixing it up the next time you're feeling the winter chill.
Recipe: Wooster's Garden Hot Toddy
Fernet And Chartreuse Hot Chocolate
Also known as The Ciampino, this flavorful concoction is no ordinary hot chocolate.
Straight out of the creative mind of Leo Robitschek of the original NoMad Bar (which unfortunately fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic and closed in 2021, per Bloomberg), this recipe combines Fernet and Chartreuse with a salted chocolate base and is topped with Angostura Cream an elevated take on a winter classic. Whip one up at home and toast a legend.
Scofflaw's Hot Buttered Rum
Created by Griffin Elliot for Chicago cocktail bar Scofflaw, this hot buttered rum recipe is much easier to make than you might think, as it can be partially prepared in advance.
Featuring a selection of spices — including cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove — as well as butter and two types of rum, this festive classic could well become your go-to drink this winter season. Once you've mixed up a batch of the spiced butter, the cocktail is ready in as little time as it takes you to boil water.
Recipe: Scofflaw's Hot Buttered Rum
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Hot Apple Cider
Here's another way to make use of your slow cooker this winter: This warming, spiced beverage takes your classic apple cider and brings it to a whole new dimension with the addition of butternut squash and orange slices.
Aside from the usual seasonal spice suspects allspice, cloves, and cardamom, the addition of star anise makes this cider a memorable drink. Feel free to add some bourbon to the mix or skip it for a family-friendly sip.
Coconut Latte
Coconut may not be a flavor you associate with the winter, but hear us out: just as it's always going to be five o'clock somewhere, it will always be summer somewhere.
With a caffeinated kick thanks to the espresso, this coconut latte makes use of coconut milk, coconut water, and coconut oil to deliver a tropical flavor that will transport you to the sunny shores of your favorite beach destination from the comfort of your home this winter.
Recipe: Coconut Latte
Hot Chocolate Tequila
As far away from the powdered hot chocolate of your childhood as it gets, bittersweet chocolate gets an added kick from premium tequila and Fernet Branca. (Popular with bartenders and other industry professionals, Fernet has, throughout history, been toted as a herbal elixir that can cure anything from cholera to cramps, per Vinepair.) And while you may not have thought to combine milk and tobacco, the flashy technique offers this hot chocolate a unique, smoky flavor that you've likely never before experienced in the festive winter drink.
Recipe: Hot Chocolate Tequila
Top Toddy
Here's a toddy like you've never seen before! The classic winter drink is given a new twist here at Tasting Table, with the use of genmaicha — a Japanese green tea made with roasted brown rice.
Thanks to the addition of vodka, scotch, and ginger liqueur, this drink packs a real punch and it could well become your new go-to cocktail for grownup tea parties and cold nights.
Recipe: Top Toddy
Glögg (Swedish Mulled Wine)
Dating back to the 2nd century, the ancient Romans used to drink warmed wine during the winter, per Vivino, and it is thanks to them that mulled wine has earned its place as a go-to winter beverage across Europe.
Glögg is Sweden's version of mulled wine, and our glögg recipe, courtesy of Marcus Samuelsson, is spiked with vodka and port and studded with orange peel, raisins, and almonds.
Recipe: Glögg (Swedish Mulled Wine)
Hot Milk Punch
You may have been told as a child that a glass of warm milk would send you straight to bed, but even if you were no fan of the ritual, we have a feeling this grown-up version might change your mind.
Made with half-and-half for a richer drink, sweet brown sugar, and one ounce each of brandy and dark rum, adding this warm cocktail to your nighttime routine is a no-brainer.
Recipe: Hot Milk Punch
Dead Rabbit's Irish Coffee
No animals were hurt in the making of this Irish coffee.
Named after New York's popular Irish pub, The Dead Rabbit, this warm cocktail will have you looking at Irish Coffee in a totally new light. Made from freshly brewed, high-quality coffee combined with a demerara sugar syrup and a slightly runny whipped cream, this recipe is the perfect combo of booze and caffeine.
Recipe: Dead Rabbit's Irish Coffee
Apple Cider Hot Toddy
Fall and winter get together to party in a mug with our apple cider hot toddy.
Sweet apple cider gets a spicy wake-up thanks to fresh ginger, cinnamon, and lemon juice. The amount of bourbon included can be adjusted depending on your preference and tolerance. You may also want to use less brown sugar than the recipe calls for or skip it entirely if you don't have much of a sweet tooth.
Recipe: Apple Cider Hot Toddy
Ginger Hot Chocolate
Ginger and hot chocolate are a match made in heaven, as recipe developer Susan Olayinka explains, "The ground ginger gives it a warm, spicy kick that's perfect for chilly evenings."
Not a fan of spice? The recipe is also customizable, allowing you to swap the ginger for a milder spice (or perhaps just the one you actually have in your pantry that doesn't require a trip to the store), like cinnamon or nutmeg.
Recipe: Ginger Hot Chocolate Recipe
Sachlav
A star in the Middle East, TimeOut explains sachlav first rose in popularity during the Ottoman empire.
Traditionally made from ground orchid bulbs (you can buy this ingredient preground, also called salep) our version of the rich, dairy-free drink is amped up with the addition of two different liqueurs. Top with pistachios and shaved coconut, and serve with a cinnamon stick for the perfect way to wrap up a cold day.
Recipe: Sachlav