17 Hot Cocktail Recipes for Cold Winter Nights

[Photographs: Sydney Oland, Elana Lepkowski]

As a kid, cold days meant warming mugs of hot chocolate and mulled cider. I still reach for cocoa and cider when it gets cold, but nowadays I often open up the liquor cabinet, too. While there's nothing wrong with adding just a shot of rum or whiskey to your mug, remember that you can treat hot drinks just as you would any other sophisticated cocktail. So if you want to warm yourself up with a little flair, check out 17 of our favorite recipes for hot toddies, boozy ciders and cocoas, and other warm cocktails.

Hot Toddies

Spiced Averna Toddy

[Photograph: Elana Lepkowski]

At its simplest, a hot toddy is just brandy or whiskey poured into hot water. There's a lot more you can do, though. For a more interesting toddy, try using caramelly, herbal Averna and a peppery simple syrup. The drink isn't super boozy, so don't feel bad about having a few.

The Hot and Cold

[Photograph: Autumn Giles]

Most toddies are made with brown liquor, but here we turn to citrusy New Amsterdam gin instead. In place of plain water we make the drink with mint tea, and add a homemade cranberry syrup to give the toddy a sweet-tart flavor and a ruby red color.

Remontel Toddy

[Photograph: Nick Guy]

This Mexican-inspired drink combines smoky mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Angostura and mole bitters, cinnamon, and mint. We top everything off with a splash of ginger beer to give it a little sparkle.

Riesling Hot Toddy

[Photograph: Sydney Oland]

This comforting winter sipper falls somewhere between a hot toddy and a mulled wine. You start by steeping bay leaves and toasted cardamom pods in a mixture of Riesling, brandy and honey, which is then strained and garnished with lemon zest. It's a lightly spiced drink that's perfect for a cold day.

Spiked Cider

Peppery Ginger Cider

[Photograph: María del Mar Sacasa]

Mulled cider with a shot of bourbon is one of my go-to winter drinks But just like a hot toddy, there's a lot of room for variation with spiked ciders. Here we start with the cider and whiskey, but we add sweet-and-spicy ginger liqueur and, for balance, richly sweet Luxardo cherries. To complement the ginger's bite, we garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.

Salty Maple Buttered Cider

[Photograph: María del Mar Sacasa]

This recipe mashes up spiked cider with another winter classic: hot buttered rum. Earthy cider is a natural match for the dark rum, and maple syrup provides a complex sweetness. To bring all the flavors together we serve the drink in glasses rimmed with lemon juice and Maldon salt.

Eve's Addiction

[Photograph: Tara Striano]

We triple down on the apple in this cocktail, spiking the cider with applejack and adding in tart Granny Smiths. We amp up the fruity flavor with clementines and dried cranberries and spice it up with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, coriander, and black peppercorns.

Boozy Hot Chocolate

Amaro Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: Elana Lepkowski]

For this drink we make the hot chocolate with cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips, and then add bittersweet amaro. For a final sophisticated touch, we top the cocoa with homemade whipped cream that we have flavored with Angostura bitters.