Top 10 warming winter drinks

Wassail, which translates to “be you healthy” in Olde English, is a hot mulled cider traditionally drunk while wassailing – an ancient southern English drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year. From what we can gather, it involves copious amounts of drinking and singing to awaken the cider apple trees and scare away evil spirits. Wassail the beverage is a hot, mulled cider traditionally made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, apples, oranges, nutmeg and topped with a slice of toast. Here are is a verse of a traditional wassailing song.

Wassail! Wassail! all over the town,

Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;

Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;

With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.

Spicy Bloody Mary

While technically not a “hot” drink, the spice in the drink is certain to warm up a winter’s night. A Bloody Mary typically contains vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices including Tabasco sauce, piri piri sauce, celery, olives, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and lemon juice to name a few. The origins of its name have been linked to Queen Mary I of England, who was nicknamed as such in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs for attempting to re-establish the Catholic Church in England. Others claim the drink was named after a waitress named Mary who worked at a Chicago bar called the Bucket of Blood.

• 1 quart tomato juice

• 1 cup vodka
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
• Lime slices or celery stalks

Combine tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, and tabasco in a 2-quart pitcher; stir well. Serve over ice. Garnish with lime or celery.

The Tom and Jerry

A traditional Yuletide cocktail in the US, the Tom and Jerry was originally conceived by British journalist Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variation on the popular egg nog drink made by adding brandy and rum and served hot. Its heartland are the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota where pre-made Tom and Jerry “batter” can be found in supermarkets approaching Christmas.

• 1 egg
• 1/2 ounce syrup or  sugar
• Dark rum
• Cognac or brandy
• Hot milk or water
• Grated nutmeg for garnish

Make by separating the yolk and white and beat them separately, before mixing together again. Add the sugar, rum and brandy then top with hot milk or water and stir well. Garnish with a sprinkling of nutmeg.

Hot Toddy

Not only a winter warmer but a well-regarded treatment for colds and flu a hot toddy, known as a hot tottie in Ireland, is typically made by warming whisky with water, sugar and spices. Recipes vary greatly. In Scotland it is made using whisky, water, sugar and honey with added cloves, lemon slice or cinnamon. Whereas in Ireland the mix takes Irish whiskey, brown sugar, hot water, a slice of lemon and cloves. Over the pond, a typical recipe in the US midwest uses Bourbon, ginger ale, lemon and honey.

Drambuie’s apple hot toddy

A twist on the traditional hot toddy, Drambuie this year released a pre-mixed version of this cocktail. Alternatively its four simple ingredients can be mixed at home for hit of winter warmth.

• One part Drambuie
• Three parts hot apple juice
• Squeezed juice of one lemon wedge
• Cinnamon stick

Smoking Bishop

A variation on mulled wine, Smoking Bishop was especially popular in Victorian England at Christmas time and is even mentioned in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It is made using Port, red wine, lemons, oranges, sugar, spices and cloves. Apparently its name comes from the traditional bowl it was once served in which was shaped like a bishop’s mitre. Other variations include the Smoking Archbishop, made with claret, Smoking Beadle, made with ginger wine and raisins, Smoking Cardinal, made with Champagne or Rhine wine, and the Smoking Pope, made with Burgundy.

Hot buttered rum

This sweet treat is made using rum, butter, hot water or cider, a sweetener and various spices, usually cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Originating in the US, its history dates back to colonial days when molasses began to be imported to America from Jamaica in the 1650s. Colonists began adding distilled rum to hot beverages creating beverages such as this and egg nog. Once you have made the batter, you can make a cocktail by adding hot water, rum and cream, sprinkling with nutmeg.

• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 oz unsalted butter
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp nutmeg
• 0.4 tsp ground cloves
• Pinch of salt

Simply mix everything together, then add the obligatory rum, hot water and cream to turn it into a cocktail not completely dissimilar to an adult butter beer, as seen in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

Irish coffee

Now a common after-dinner staple, the Irish coffee has been keeping imbibers awake and buzzing since its invention in the 1940s. Consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and topped with thick cream, the classic version of this calorie-busting beverage is said to have been invented by Joe Sheridan, of County Limerick who added whiskey to the coffee for passengers travelling on a cold night. When asked what they were being served Sheridan replied, “Irish coffee”.