Winter cocktails to try: our top ten

During the cold winter evenings let the skilled hands of a barman mix a few cocktails for you. To combat low temperatures or to warm some lonely hearts, here are the suggestions of the barman Emilio Socci, cocktail expert and winner of national awards for his creations.

A glass of Cognac or Scotch can certainly make you feel warmer and there is nothing more comforting than a steaming and delicious cup made to perfection and with an intoxicating taste. Those who like to stay up late know that the nights are cold and so it is better to remember some good hot cocktails.

COCKTAIL INVERNALI: ELENCO

• Vin Brulé
• Blue Blazer
• Grog
• Toddy
• Irish Coffee
• Egg Nog
• Russian Black & White
• Sazerac
• Manhattan
• Alexander

Vin Brulé

Since the Middle Ages, throughout Europe it became good and customary in the winter period to consume Vin Brulé, which due to its easy preparation (mainly full-bodied red wine brought to the boil with the addition of spices and citrus fruits) is a great classic of mixing history. Invigorating, warming and disinfectant, historically in France it was called "The Wine of Street Poets", because in the long winter evenings, they find in the drink the right comfort and inspiration for the theatrical performances in the Parisian streets of the late 800 and 900.

Blue Blazer

Another drink that has characterized the history of world mixing is the Blue Blazer, created in America by Professor Jerry Thomas. A drink as spectacular as it is elaborated in its simplicity of the ingredients. The spectacularity of the drink lies in the long blue flame that passes between the two mugs in which the liquid is passed. Legend has it that Thomas kept the mugs three feet away from each other and that he would only prepare the drink if the outside temperature was 10 ° C or below maximum, making an exception to this rule if the person who he ordered he had a cold or the flu.

Grog

Similar but more historical is the classic British drink Grog, invented by Admiral Edward Old Grog Vernon in 1740. Following the British colonization of Jamaica, it gradually began to replace rum for the classic consumption of beer and brandy (pirates at the time already they drank a hot drink to soothe the cold of the seas based on Brandy, called Black Bumbo). The Grog was called by the sailors of the time "watered rum" because, to prevent them from drinking rations of raw rum with a very high alcohol content at once, water and lemon juice were added, which allowed the intake of the mixture many times a day.

Toddy

Continuing on the historical vein, Toddy is another drink very similar to Grog and Punch. The Toddy name goes around the world reaching India. Originally the term indicated the sap of the Indian coconut tree left to ferment in the sun. In Eastern Europe, however, the term indicated any liquid distilled with Arak (a liqueur with a very strong aniseed flavor). In the 19th century, however, Arak was an essential ingredient for the Punch (in fact, there is the Hindi Punch, made with arak, tea, sugar, water, lemon). From 1748, therefore, the Toddy becomes a hot drink made with a distillate of Arak, Rum or Whiskey with the addition of tea or cider based on fruit or spices and orange or lemon peel. Its Gin-based variant is also gaining traction in Europe.

Irish Coffee

We are talking about a drink that is identified as a cocktail and not as a coffee: it is the famous Irish coffee, better known as Irish Coffee. It was served in the harbor bars to passengers on long, cold transatlantic voyages. With its composition made of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and cold milk cream it is still one of the most popular and popular hot drinks in the world.

Egg Nog

However, the series of purely winter drinks is also made up of some cold drinks. It is Egg Nog, a kind of reinforced zabaglione (milk, egg yolk, sugar and spices), consumed mainly in the Christmas holidays.

The first recipe of Egg Nog (hen's milk) appears in 1862, the paternity goes to the English settlers who preferred to reinforce the energy drink based on milk and eggs with the addition of a spirit during the Christmas period, in fact the Egg Nog it can be prepared with the addition of Brandy, Whiskey or Rum.

Russian Black and White

The real winter cocktail is the Russian, in the Black version for the strongest tastes and in the White version for the more delicate ones, with its creaminess with a sweet taste. The combination of vodka and coffee liqueur dates back to 1949 and was first conceived for the then US ambassador visiting Europe. It is easy to understand that the name Black Russian refers to the dark color of the coffee liqueur and the origin of the most famous distillate in Russia, vodka. The White version of the Russian provides an addition of milk cream on the surface that makes the drink pleasant even for the fairer sex.

Sazerac

A cocktail that dates back to 1830, before the civil war, can be traced back to the genius of all bitters, Antoine Pechaud who, having moved from the Antilles to New Orleans, in his pharmacy created an invigorating drink for friends and customers, made with Cognac, a blend secret of its bitters, sugar, absinthe scent and water: here is the Sazerac. It is thought that the name of the cocktail derives from the brand of a Cognac well known at the time “Sazerac-du-Forge et Fils”. Even for Sazerac, over the years it has come to replace Cognac with Rye Whiskey to make it more pleasant to the American palate but also a little to safeguard the resources of Cognac which, with Filossera in those times, risked to be in short supply.

Manhattan

From the list of winter drinks I would not feel like excluding one of the kings of mixing, the Manhattan. Spicy, invigorating, with a rich and not too dry taste, perhaps revised and corrected to better adapt it to the season or to your taste. The Manhattan can be easily found on all drink lists since its birth (1876). Its basic version is made of Borbon, red Vermouth and Angostura. The lasting and historical fame of the Manhattan has produced countless variations, both on the proportions between distillate and vermouth and on the use of the distillate ranging from the type of whiskey. In some variations, in fact, it can be Rye Whiskey or even Cognac.

Alexander

Among the drinks capable of warming hearts and souls, with a creamy and delicate flavor, there is certainly Alexander. Its fame starts from the early 1900s but over time a series of variable ingredients have also been added here according to tastes: Gin, Rye Whiskey and Cognac that have been mixed on fixed ingredients, that is the cocoa cream and milk cream. There is also another variant with Rum ... but with a different name: Panamà Cocktail.

So, after a summer spent between Margarita and Mojito there will be a desire for strong, comforting and above all warm flavors.

Unfortunately, on alcoholic cocktails there is no real distinction between summer and winter ones and so ... to make up for it ... it will be better to pamper yourself with these suggestions: ciders, spices, liqueurs, in some cases coffee and lots of love, as always.