When the chill gets deep, deep in your bones, it’s time to warm up from the inside out. Not in a sex way—although that will certainly warm you up, too, and I mean, do whatever works for you—but rather I am talking about cold weather booze here. We asked bartenders across the country to weigh in on their favorite winter warmers, ranging from classic cocktails to brandies to, you know, actually hot alcohol. Time to get cozy (and then, maybe, get busy. Your call).
Whiskey
“I think any dark spirit drinks are good for the winter,” says Shawn Chen at RedFarm and Decoy in New York. Winter flavors tend to be heavier, and so bartenders often reach for the dark stuff. “Drinks like the whiskey sour or the Manhattan increase the body temperature.” Along the same line of logic, Allen Lancaster of The Bar at The Spectator Hotel in Charleston suggests an Old Fashioned: “It's simplicity is what has allowed it to stand the test of time and warms me inside just thinking about it.” And for the non whiskey-fans in the house, Jessica Norris of Del Frisco’s in Texas recommends swapping the bourbon or rye for añejo tequila.
Brandy
And not just any brandy. “Calvados!” says Dan Morton of Hand + Foot in Corning, New York. “There is simply no finer way to shake off winter than apple brandy from Normandy.” Xavier Herit of NoMo SoHo Hotel in New York City agrees: “As a French native bartender, Calvados and hard cider.”
Hot Toddies
It’s right there in the name, after all. “I love a really well-made hot toddy,” says Kellen Hamrah of Piatello in Fort Worth. “Makes all the cold melt away.” Colin Silva of Ser Steak + Spirits in Dallas puts a slight twist on the classic combo of lemon, bourbon, and tea, swapping the black tea for jasmine. It “adds a subtle touch to the background.”
Irish Coffee
Accept no substitutes for “an Irish coffee done right,” says Jillian Vose of New York’s Dead Rabbit. Thomas Waugh of the Pool Lounge, also in New York, agrees. “A good Irish coffee with well made, good coffee is my go-to. Sub out the whiskey for tequila and it really warms you up.”
Whatever Means You Don’t Have to Go Outside
Nick Bennett of New York’s Porchlight is raiding the pantry when it gets cold: “The ultimate cold weather drink is whatever you want it to be as long as you are curled up next to someone warm. Let’s be honest, when it’s really cold outside, I'm not going out. “
And Meanwhile, in Miami
“A dram of whiskey or a carafe of hot sake always does the trick,” says Jules Gomez of Zuma in Miami, ”when the temperature dips below 70.”
