Hot toddies are tasty and mulled wine is moreish, but they’re only the beginning when it comes to warming, wintertime serves…
For the chilly gin lover, we come bearing good tidings: hot cocktail recipes aren’t just limited to whisky and wine. First, warm up with our tempting mulled sloe gin, which blends Sipsmith Sloe Gin with cloudy apple juice and heaps of spices – it’s a cold weather classic. Then, move on to the three serves below, which come straight from the mind of our ingenious Head Distiller, Jared Brown. From cocoa to candy canes, these tipples are as festive as they are toasty.
For the chilly gin lover, we come bearing good tidings: hot cocktail recipes aren’t just limited to whisky and wine.
Bee’s Hot Knees
The Bee’s Knees is a classic cocktail from the 1920s and one of the most moreish drinks ever invented (in our minds, it’s one of the most underrated of the classic, Prohibition-era cocktails). Now that we’ve got hot cocktail recipes on the brain, we’ve decided to try this one warmed-up…for the very first time. Please feel free to test the recipe and share any feedback with us. In the meantime, we’ll be tinkering with (read: sipping) this toddy alternative all season.
- 50ml Sipsmith London Dry Gin
- 25ml lemon juice
- 25ml honey syrup*
- 100ml boiling water
Combine all ingredients in an Irish coffee mug or teacup. Stir. Garnish with a lemon twist.
* Add equal parts water anf honey in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until they combine.
The Christmas Stocking
We’ve never been entirely sure what to do with the candy canes in our Christmas stockings. The dentist long ago made us swear off sucking on boiled sweets-but he never said a word about drinking them. That’s where the Christmas Stocking comes in. This adult version of the holiday treat also blends in tea, gin, and bitters.
- 50ml Sipsmith London Dry Gin
- 25ml candy cane syrup*
- 100ml strong hot tea
- 1 dash of Angostura bitters
Combine all four ingredients in an Irish coffee mug or teacup. Stir. Garnish with an extra candy cane (don’t tell the dentist).
*Crush candy canes. Combine them with an equal measure by volume of boiling water. Let this mixture sit until the candy canes are completely dissolved.
From cocoa to candy canes, these tipples are as festive as they are toasty.
Chocolate Sloe Punch
We only recently discovered our Sloe Gin makes a wonderful Chocolate Sloe Punch. Full of dark fruit flavours, this warm drink is like dessert in a glass – and certainly one of our all-time favourite hot cocktail recipes.
- 25ml cacao-infused vodka*
- 25ml Sipsmith Sloe Gin
- 100ml hot strong brewed fruit infusion, such as raspberry and echinacea tea
Combine all three ingredients in an Irish coffee mug or teacup. Stir. Garnish with a chocolate truffle on the side.
*To make the cacao-infused vodka: Crush fresh cacao beans. Toss them in a hot dry pan over medium heat for about 45 seconds. This will not be enough to toast them, but they will turn from greyish on the outside to dark and shiny (the colour of a Louis Vuitton handbag). Combine 100g of cacao beans with a bottle of Sipsmith Sipping Vodka. Set aside for a week, then strain)
