In case you haven’t noticed, it’s cold in the District. It’s cold in Northern Virginia and Maryland. It’s basically cold everywhere this week. Winter made its grand entrance, which meant delayed starts, snow days, and most of us spending quality time in whatever living arrangement we call home. Hopefully all of you have a steaming mug of deliciousness to keep warm! For those of you getting ready to host family and friends, or looking for an easy way to celebrate the time off, here are five warm drink recommendations featuring full flavor for those who have attained twenty-one years of age.

For those of you looking for non-alcoholic options, check out my previous article: 5 Warm (Non-Alcoholic) Drinks for Your DC Winter.

I selected these five drinks mostly from Pinterest, made them, and reviewed them honestly below. Grading was based on their accessibility, prep time, and taste, with each category having five stars possible. “Accessibility” is defined as the likelihood that the average District resident would have the ingredients in their kitchen or could readily purchase them at their closest corner store. A bit more lenience is given to this category than to the non-alcoholic list since I am assuming most of these would require a trip to a liquor store. “Prep time” is the time and effort involved in making the drink. And taste, is taste. There you have it; let’s get to it!

1) Irish-ish Coffee



From: The Dabblist

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There is no knocking the simplicity of liquor in coffee, and Irish coffee is certainly a classic. The twist here, what makes it “Irish-ish,” is that there is no brown sugar in the coffee and there is liquor in the whipped cream. I strayed from the recipe only in that I did not have Bailey’s to put in the cream, however since Bailey’s is basically just whisky infused cream, I added an extra shot of whisky to the cream prior to whipping. I attempted to whip the cream by hand, which those of you who have tried before can attest, is a long and difficult task. I resorted to whipping it with an electric hand-blender (which I probably should have done in the first place.) The mingling of the warm coffee and the cream, followed by an after taste of whiskey, makes this drink extremely crave-able.

2) Hot Buttered Rum



From: Joy of Cooking

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As you can imagine, there is an interesting story to this one. We happened to have some rum and I noticed that it wasn’t used in many warm drink recipes, so I turned to Pinterest to find “warm rum drinks.” The stream was almost entirely this bizarre-sounding drink, “buttered rum,” which as it happens, is exactly what it sounds like. Butter and rum. I quickly dismissed it. However, when I came across a buttered rum recipe in the classic cookbook, Joy of Cooking, it had to be attempted. The cookbook humorously comments of the classic New England drink, “curious, isn’t it, that the Puritans made drinks like this one, which as been said to make a man see double and feel single.” Well it’s simplicity with five ingredients and quick prep time scored high marks, and it’s taste wasn’t nearly as bizarre as I had assumed. The butter doesn’t impart much flavor, so it really tastes like you are drinking warm rum. The butter coats your mouth afterwards, which in a way, helps accentuate the sugar and nutmeg. You should try it out on your friends and let me know how it goes over!

3) Mellow Mulled Wine



From: Flourishing Foodie

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There there are very few more enjoyable wintry experiences than the smell of wine mulling on the stove top. There are so many possibilities with what fruits you could put in it, what seasonings, and what wine to use. This particular recipe caught my attention when it was described as “mellow.” I’m not sure what about the ingredients made it “mellow” but I honestly cannot argue with that description. A warm mug of this wine in the evening has the calming power of a skilled masseuse and a therapy dog combined. The encouragement to try a “variety” of citrus led to me using tangerines, lemons, and persimmons. Yes, technically a persimmon is a berry, but they just looked so ripe and plump in the store I couldn’t help myself. And the addition was a great gamble, because the persimmons absorbed the wine deliciously and made for yummy munching after the wine was gone.

4) Sriracha Hot Toddy



From: Tablespoon

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This originally came to my attention when the great Sriracha-plant-closing-crisis was in full bloom. Everyone wanted new and creative ways to experience the red-hot sauce before we might lose it forever. Fortunately for us, the courts have delayed a closing for now, so this is the perfect time to get your fix. For those who turn to hot toddies as cold and sinus remedies, this is certainly one way to improve upon the home medicine. Never have my sinuses been so rocked, and considering they weren’t congested when I sampled this, it was a bit hard to adapt and enjoy. The flavor was remarkable, and I will absolutely be cooking this up next time I need relief. The interesting flavor might be another good one to try on a group of friends, particularity if they are hot sauce connoisseurs.

5) Spiked Apple Cider



From: Hand and Seek

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Similar to mulled wine, apple cider is delightful on the stove top. We very much enjoy putting a pot on the stove early on a lazy Saturday or Sunday and family and friends can help themselves throughout the day and into the evening. It’s very much a set-it and forget-it beverage, which is great for holiday parties. The ingredients are a lot of fun with puncturing the orange (I used a tangerine) with cloves and putting the ginger and other spices into a tea ball. The liquors I used were rum, whisky, and triple sec, and using the proportions listed in the recipe, it didn’t taste overly boozy. Depending on your guests, you can always ramp it up.