But vodka sodas and other chilled, spritzy cocktails will leave you shivering and dreaming of summer beach days.
Instead, warm yourself up with these classic hot cocktails that go beyond spiked hot chocolate.
Glogg
Glogg is essentiallymulled winewarm, sweet, citrusy red winewith a Nordic twist.
Heat the wine, sugar, zest, spices, and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat.
Stir until sugar is dissolved, and let the mixture simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Heat new mixture in a saucepan until warm, then serve.
Then fill a mug about 34 full with the tea before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Garnish with lemon if you so choose.
What makes this drink special is a few fancy ingredients, like demerara syrup.
This drink takes a little more effort than other coffee cocktails, but its worth it.
Itll warm you up while it wakes you up.
This baseline makes it an easy cocktail to customize and build on.
If youre looking for some inspiration, I recommendMatt Duckors Maple Ginger Hot Toddy.
Garnish with a lemon peel if youre feeling fancy.
For a more straight-forward toddy, I recommend the simple, but tastyScotch hot toddy.
Cover and let steep for five minutes.
Heat it until warm and steaming, then serve.
Top each mug off with a 12 teaspoon of butter and a cinnamon stick.
Mary Rocketts Milk Punch
This cocktail recipe is another oldie but goodie from yesteryear.
Over at theJames Beard Foundation, cocktail historianDavid WondrichsharesMary Rocketts original milk punch recipethat dates back to 1711.
This will yield you 25 servings and is theoldest known versionof the recipe.
2 lemons
1 quart V.S.
Now add the grated nutmeg and let it sit for one hour.
Once cooled, strain it through fine cheesecloth into a bottle, then refrigerate.
Mix everything but the rum together in a large saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Once its boiling, reduce it to a simmer and whisk occasionally for about 10 minutes.
Then remove it from heat, stir in the rum, and serve.
Its flavor can be overpowering if you drink it on its own, but it makes for great cocktails.
Just skip the milk warming step.
Add the gin and sherry after a few minutes, then bring the punch up to a boil.
Let it cool for a few minutes, then serve warm with a lemon slice.
On her blogRachel Cooks, Rachel Gurkshares an adaptable, easy-to-mix version.
Serve it in mugs and garnish with whipped cream.
If you want to make your drink even more decadent, use whole cream instead of milk.
So, go pour yourself a glass and wait out any blizzards that come your way.
