7 hot cocktails to warm you across all of winter

overhead shot of a saucepan filled with red wine cinnamon sticks, rosemary sprigs and lots of sliced orange

Winter is prime time for warming cocktails

(Image credit: Alvarez / Getty Images)

This season’s collection of winter cocktails is hot, hot, hot! Whether you are eyeing a soothing nonalcoholic gut-filler or a sharp toddy variation with Irish whiskey and apple syrup, these warm drinks are the bouncy blanket for the months ahead.

Barraquito

a hot tumbler with striated horizontal layers of espresso and foamed milk — The beautiful hues of a well-made barraquito

The barraquito is a visual stunner, with layers of condensed milk, yellow Licor 43, frothed milk and espresso assembling into an striated, earthtoned sequence. The drink from Spain’s Canary Islands is a “midmorning pick-me-up, a post-meal ritual and an intergenerational tradition,” said the beverage publication Punch.

Francophile

a garnet-colored liquid fills a tall tumbler. it is garnished with a cinnamon stick and a thin apple slice — Mulled wine is always a fine, warming answer

Spices do wonders for wine during the coldest months. The Francophile’s way with mulled wine includes cinnamon simple syrup for sweetening and Calvados, the apple brandy, for a stout complement. An apple slice and cinnamon stick as garnishes remind you exactly what’s afoot in this gladdening cocktail.

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Hot Tiger’s Milk

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Like some hybrid of a hot buttered rum and a piña colada, Hot Tiger’s Milk is rich and coconutty. It’s an old recipe, dating back to the 1800s. You wouldn’t want more than one, what with its rich coconut cream base and addition of evaporated milk when you build the drink in your mug. But you are going to want to finish each drop of the one you do drink.

Moneygun Hot Toddy

a squat glass mug filled with dark-orange liquid. there is a tea bag, clove and orange wedge floating in the liquid — The splendor and power of a toddy with rum and black tea

Whiskey, step away from the toddy. Rum and cognac are stepping in for today’s performance. In the Moneygun Hot Toddy, named after the Chicago bar, a touch of fresh ginger, Darjeeling tea, cloves, lemon juice and honey are the supporting players that give this lively toddy a strong, welcoming point of view.

Peanut Atole

overhead shot of a creamy brown liquid in a red mug. the mud sits on a yellow napkin — Like peanutty cornbread in a mug

Atole is a hot, agreeable Mexican drink, nonalcoholic by nature. The base is nearly always made with corn. This variation employs that prototypical corn base but adds a slap of natural peanut butter for a welcome touch of richness. If Goldilocks really knew what was up, this would be her porridge of choice.

Queen of Cups

3/4 shot of a fine china mug, filled with a light brown liquid. the mug sits on a complementary frilly edged white saucer — Rich with brown butter and sweet with apple syrup

Hazelnut brown butter, spiced apple syrup, Irish whiskey: Thirsty yet? Not the kind of cocktail that one can throw together during a somnambulic moment, The Queen of Cups requires advance thinking to make the brown butter and apple syrup. Once those elements are prepared, though, you simply assemble. At that point, you can indeed make it in your sleep.

Verte Chaud

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Hot chocolate is spiked with green Chartreuse in the simple, thrilling Verte Chaud. Imagine packing a thermos with this effortless cocktail. Anyone you share it with will thank you, profusely. Or just keep it all for yourself. You deserve it.

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Scott Hocker is an award-winning freelance writer and editor at The Week Digital. He has written food, travel, culture and lifestyle stories for local, national and international publications for more than 20 years. Scott also has more than 15 years of experience creating, implementing and managing content initiatives while working across departments to grow companies. His most recent editorial post was as editor-in-chief of Liquor.com. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Tasting Table and a senior editor at San Francisco magazine.