Holiday Hot Toddy Recipes With Scotch, Gin & Rum

November 20, 2013 at 8:42 am · Filed under Chinese/Lunar New Year, Cocktails & Spirits, Thanksgiving & Fall, Tip Of The Day

[1] Mulled cider can be a cocktail (add gin, rum, or whiskey) or mocktail (photo © Zaya Rum).

Glass Of Mulled Wine
[2] Mulled wine is a festive holiday drink (Freepik Photo).

The expression “cup of good cheer” that comes to us from Merrie Olde England refers to hot mulled cider and wine. Whether or not you have a fireplace, horse and sleigh, invite friends over to share that cup, and have one waiting as Thanksgiving guests arrive.

Warm alcoholic beverages such as glögg, mulled wine and toddies originated in Northern Europe, where beer, cider, wine, and spirits were mulled (heated) with sugar and spices to add some cheer to cold winter days (before central heating, no less).

Serve a toddy (or one of the related drinks below) instead of egg nog and you’ll save big on calories. A hot toddy is just as festive and is made with mostly water instead of mostly cream and eggs!

Below, check out these three recipes:

> Scotch Toddy

> Hot Gin Cider

> Spiced Holly Highball

Plus:

> The year’s 5+ hot cocktail days.

HOT TODDY & ITS RELATIVES

Glögg (pronounced like the “eu” sound in French—here’s an audio file pronunciation from a native Swede) is the Scandinavian form of mulled wine, sweetened with sugar and spiced with bitter orange peel, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger, vanilla pods, and often, almonds and raisins.

Hot Buttered Rum is a rum toddy, a favorite drink in Colonial America. The classic recipe contains butter, which adds creaminess and body. Many people use the term “hot buttered rum” when they mean “toddy,” so if you care one way or the other, ask if it contains butter.

Hot Cider can be made with or without spirits. You can serve it plain, mulled (with spices) or with gin or other favorite spirit.

Mulled Wine is hot and sweet: “Mulled” means to heat, sweeten and flavor with spices. Ale and cider are also mulled.

Toddy is a cocktail made with alcohol, boiling water, sugar and spices. Toddies can be made with any spirit—bourbon, brandy, tequila, Scotch and other whiskeys are popular. Back in Merrie Olde England, bourbon and tequila—New World spirits—were not part of the repertoire.

While it’s not related to any of the hot drinks above, we’ll add another to the list to clarify the difference:

Nog, a beverage made with beaten eggs (“egg nog” is a redundancy, like “hot toddy” [a toddy is made with boiling water] and in another category, “shrimp scampi” [scampi is Italian for “shrimp”]).

We have more history and recipes for all of these hot cocktails.

[3] Scotch toddy (Gemini Photo).

RECIPE #1: SCOTCH TODDY

This recipe comes from Laphroaig, using its 10-Year-Old Scotch Whisky. We’re big Laphroaig fans—we love that peaty, smoky taste—but you can use whatever Scotch you have. If you’re not a Scotch drinker, substitute your favorite spirit.

Instead of added spices, this recipe uses ginger liqueur.

Ingredients Per Drink

1 part Scotch

½ part ginger liqueur

3 parts apple cider

Garnishes: lemon wedge studded with cloves, dash of fresh ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. BUILD drink in a pre-heated coffee mug.

2. GARNISH and serve.

A Mug Of Glogg
[4] Glögg (photo © Tullamore Dew).

RECIPE #2: HOT GIN CIDER

This drink, from Tanqueray London Dry Gin, is especially attractive in a tall glass mug, as in the photo below.

Ingredients Per Drink

1.25 ounces London Dry Gin

.5 ounce fresh lemon juice

3 dashes simple syrup

3 dashes bitters

Hot apple cider

Optional garnish: cinnamon stick or lemon wheel

Preparation

1. COMBINE the first five ingredients in a glass. Top with hot apple cider and stir.

2. GARNISH with cinnamon stick and serve.

RECIPE #3: SPICED HOLLY HIGHBALL

A chilled cocktail, fun for the holidays, from Cruzan Rum.

Ingredients

5 cranberries

Handful of mint leaves

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon agave or honey

1.5 parts aged dark rum

Ice

Club soda

Garnish: mint sprig

Preparation

1. MUDDLE the cranberries, mint, spice, and agave. Add rum and shake well.

2. STRAIN over ice into a highball glass. Top with club soda and garnish with a mint sprig and three cranberries.

THE YEAR’S 5+ HOT COCKTAIL HOLIDAYS

January 11: National Hot Toddy Day

January 17: National Hot Buttered Rum Day

January 25: National Irish Coffee Day

March 3: National Mulled Wine Day

September 30: National Hot Mulled Cider Day

Plus, you can spike these beverages:

January 31: National Hot Chocolate Day

November 8: National Cappuccino Day

December 3: National Peppermint Latte Day

And while eggnog is served chilled, it can be served warm. The Tom and Jerry is a warm, spiced holiday cocktail similar to eggnog, made with a batter of eggs, sugar, and spices, mixed with brandy, rum, and hot milk, and served in a mug, typically garnished with nutmeg.

December 24: National Eggnog Day

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