Where I Come From, We Drink ____ When It's Cold
January 15, 2015 8:50 AM Subscribe
I'm curious about the regional preferences expressed in one's choice of hot alcoholic beverage in cold weather. Less "give me your recipe," more "where are you from, what do you drink, and what do you call it?"
When I was a kid in Oklahoma my parents used to make hot buttered rum, usually from a tub of mix bought at the store and kept in the freezer. They occasionally used the term "hot toddy" interchangeably, but they usually said hot buttered rum (and almost invariably meant it). When I came home for Christmas in the middle of a year in Germany I brought a package of spices for Glühwein, and my mom thought that was the craziest thing. I guess in her mind hot buttered rum was the only hot boozy drink anybody might want.
Since getting out of Oklahoma I've been introduced to other hot drinks (e.g. Toddy made with whiskey or brandy, Tom & Jerry, Glögg, and even a Flip heated with a loggerhead plunged into the drink). And then recently while visiting a friend in Oklahoma my sister was served a Tom & Jerry. Turns out her friends' family came from Wisconsin and brought the recipe with them.
And this doesn't even get into the hot palinka we saw in Budapest.
So I'm curious. If you (or your family) come from a place with a common hot drink containing alcohol, what's the place and what's the drink? If it looks like mulled wine and it quacks like mulled wine but it's called whiskey (previously), so much the better. (It's spelt Raymond Luxury-Yacht but it's pronounced Throatwarbler Mangrove)
For completeness here are three more previouslies with lots of recipes.
When I was a kid in Oklahoma my parents used to make hot buttered rum, usually from a tub of mix bought at the store and kept in the freezer. They occasionally used the term "hot toddy" interchangeably, but they usually said hot buttered rum (and almost invariably meant it). When I came home for Christmas in the middle of a year in Germany I brought a package of spices for Glühwein, and my mom thought that was the craziest thing. I guess in her mind hot buttered rum was the only hot boozy drink anybody might want.
Since getting out of Oklahoma I've been introduced to other hot drinks (e.g. Toddy made with whiskey or brandy, Tom & Jerry, Glögg, and even a Flip heated with a loggerhead plunged into the drink). And then recently while visiting a friend in Oklahoma my sister was served a Tom & Jerry. Turns out her friends' family came from Wisconsin and brought the recipe with them.
And this doesn't even get into the hot palinka we saw in Budapest.
So I'm curious. If you (or your family) come from a place with a common hot drink containing alcohol, what's the place and what's the drink? If it looks like mulled wine and it quacks like mulled wine but it's called whiskey (previously), so much the better. (It's spelt Raymond Luxury-Yacht but it's pronounced Throatwarbler Mangrove)
For completeness here are three more previouslies with lots of recipes.
In Finland, it's 'hot berry juice', which is a sort of mixed berry cordial (non-alcoholic though) that's served hot.
posted by pipeski at 8:59 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 8:59 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
And then recently while visiting a friend in Oklahoma my sister was served a Tom & Jerry. Turns out her friends' family came from Wisconsin and brought the recipe with them.
Weird, I've lived in Wisconsin all my life and have never heard of this.
Anyway, on cold nights the preferred drink is an Irish coffee. This may be influenced by the fact that the Wisconsin side of my family is Irish Catholic.
posted by desjardins at 9:03 AM on January 15, 2015
Weird, I've lived in Wisconsin all my life and have never heard of this.
Anyway, on cold nights the preferred drink is an Irish coffee. This may be influenced by the fact that the Wisconsin side of my family is Irish Catholic.
posted by desjardins at 9:03 AM on January 15, 2015
Hailing from the Netherlands:
our Bisschopswijn is a kind of mulled wine, and traditionally served around St. Nicholas day (December 5th) but we also like hot cocoa with rum.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:08 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
our Bisschopswijn is a kind of mulled wine, and traditionally served around St. Nicholas day (December 5th) but we also like hot cocoa with rum.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:08 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
[Ethnic demonym corresponding to alcohol] coffee, e.g. Irish Coffee, Mexican Coffee, Jamaican Coffee, etc. mutatis mutandis (hot) chocolate. (Mulled wine and hot toddies too, but you've got those.)
posted by klangklangston at 9:31 AM on January 15, 2015
posted by klangklangston at 9:31 AM on January 15, 2015
In the UK there is mulled wine and mulled cider, with the latter (unsurprisingly) better known in cider producing areas such as the SW. There is a specific kind of mulled cider known as Wassail, though the word can also be used as a verb, which is connected to drinking lots of warm cider.
posted by biffa at 9:31 AM on January 15, 2015
posted by biffa at 9:31 AM on January 15, 2015
Lipstick Thespian enjoys a hot toddy from time to time. We live in New England. What's been interesting for him is ordering them in bars and noticing how differently bartenders prepare this drink - there is no consistent standard. Some use whiskey (different kinds - Irish, Canadian, Bourbon) - some use rum. Some use a lemon wedge, some just a twist or a peel. Some include cloves and some do not. Some include additional sugar or honey and some do not. It's something bartenders seem to do with an individual flair.
I used to work in a pub in NJ and there were a few hot boozy drinks that were really popular even before the coffee-drink and infused-beverage crazes really launched. Bailey's & coffee and Irish coffee were standbys and made often. Hot chocolate with a shot of Chambord was not unheard of.
In a different restaurant in Philadelphia, we served a hot cider & rum. Hot mulled apple cider from the crockpot, a shot of rum and a dab of butter on top.
posted by Miko at 9:48 AM on January 15, 2015
I used to work in a pub in NJ and there were a few hot boozy drinks that were really popular even before the coffee-drink and infused-beverage crazes really launched. Bailey's & coffee and Irish coffee were standbys and made often. Hot chocolate with a shot of Chambord was not unheard of.
In a different restaurant in Philadelphia, we served a hot cider & rum. Hot mulled apple cider from the crockpot, a shot of rum and a dab of butter on top.
posted by Miko at 9:48 AM on January 15, 2015
I'm from Winnipeg and typically it's coffee or hot chocolate with a shot of whisky or rum in it.
Some people call it Irish Coffee even if it isn't an Irish whisky, but a lot of people just ask for "something in it," as in:
"Damn it's cold out there, you know?"
"You want some coffee to warm up?"
"Yeah. And put something in it, too."
posted by RobotHero at 9:50 AM on January 15, 2015
Some people call it Irish Coffee even if it isn't an Irish whisky, but a lot of people just ask for "something in it," as in:
"Damn it's cold out there, you know?"
"You want some coffee to warm up?"
"Yeah. And put something in it, too."
posted by RobotHero at 9:50 AM on January 15, 2015
Best answer: In Quebec it is Caribou, most famously from specially made hollow canes at Carnaval.
posted by Cuke at 9:53 AM on January 15, 2015
posted by Cuke at 9:53 AM on January 15, 2015
Best answer: Of interest: Boilo - Traditional Yuletide drink of the Coal Region
I am from Ottawa and have had a lot of Irish coffee and blueberry tea.
posted by kmennie at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
I am from Ottawa and have had a lot of Irish coffee and blueberry tea.
posted by kmennie at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Hot port is Ireland's answer to this question.
posted by ambrosen at 10:32 AM on January 15, 2015
posted by ambrosen at 10:32 AM on January 15, 2015
Best answer: Spanish Coffee was invented in Portland, Oregon, and I've seen far more people there consume it than elsewhere.
Before moving out west, I lived in Maine, where we drank a hot toddy variation that I don't have a name for, which is ginger tea with lemon, honey, and bourbon. The other thing Mainers drink in the winter is Allen's Coffee Brandy, which is traditionally just consumed with milk (we call that "a kahlua," for reasons that are somehow both obvious and obscure), but can also be added to coffee.
posted by dizziest at 10:34 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Before moving out west, I lived in Maine, where we drank a hot toddy variation that I don't have a name for, which is ginger tea with lemon, honey, and bourbon. The other thing Mainers drink in the winter is Allen's Coffee Brandy, which is traditionally just consumed with milk (we call that "a kahlua," for reasons that are somehow both obvious and obscure), but can also be added to coffee.
posted by dizziest at 10:34 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Hot port is Ireland's answer to this question.
Hot port or hot whiskey - the clove-studded lemon slice is the same for both, but the whiskey benefits from added sugar, while the port doesn't need it.
posted by Azara at 10:39 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hot port or hot whiskey - the clove-studded lemon slice is the same for both, but the whiskey benefits from added sugar, while the port doesn't need it.
posted by Azara at 10:39 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hot port or hot whiskey - the clove-studded lemon slice is the same for both, but the whiskey benefits from added sugar, while the port doesn't need it.
Same in Northern Ireland. Important to stress that it needs to be brown sugar!
posted by knapah at 10:50 AM on January 15, 2015
Same in Northern Ireland. Important to stress that it needs to be brown sugar!
posted by knapah at 10:50 AM on January 15, 2015
People in Germany drink Glühwein (thought mostly only before Christmas, not after), which is hot wine/hot mulled wine/glogg. Some people put spices in it as well. (There also seems to be one without alcohol.)
posted by LoonyLovegood at 11:08 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by LoonyLovegood at 11:08 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
In Spain there isn't a standard alcoholic warm beverage in general, if you don't count putting alcohol on your coffee (see: carajillo, café irlandés, and so on) and stuff like queimadas (which are more of an All Saints Eve thing, not winter).
Else, it's chocolate con churros. The Spanish version is very, very thick, unlike the more liquid Mexican version of the drink.
posted by sukeban at 11:11 AM on January 15, 2015
Else, it's chocolate con churros. The Spanish version is very, very thick, unlike the more liquid Mexican version of the drink.
posted by sukeban at 11:11 AM on January 15, 2015
I'm from Pittsburgh, then San Francisco, and it's Irish Coffee.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:17 AM on January 15, 2015
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:17 AM on January 15, 2015
In Canada, mulled wine is likely the most common hot alcohol drink for winter parties.
Here's a recipe we use which isn't quite standard, but has proved enormously popular every time we've used it:
1 bottle of red wine
1 L of strong tea, prebrewed (about 6 teabags, herbal teas work excellently)
1 L of cranberry juice
125 g to 250 g of sugar, to taste (depending if your juice is sweetened or not).
6 cloves
6 all spice berries
a couple of cinnamon sticks.
Put everything in a pot, simmer for at least 2 hours before serving. We normally use a crockpot for this.
We (that is to say my wife and I) also do hot toddys a fair bit. Muddle 15g of sugar with a slice or two of citrus in a mug, add a standard shot of liquor (whisky, rye, rum, brandy, gin according to preference), fill with hot water. Toddys are more of a British Isles thing though.
Lots of folks just drink beer, regardless of the weather.
posted by bonehead at 11:31 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's a recipe we use which isn't quite standard, but has proved enormously popular every time we've used it:
1 bottle of red wine
1 L of strong tea, prebrewed (about 6 teabags, herbal teas work excellently)
1 L of cranberry juice
125 g to 250 g of sugar, to taste (depending if your juice is sweetened or not).
6 cloves
6 all spice berries
a couple of cinnamon sticks.
Put everything in a pot, simmer for at least 2 hours before serving. We normally use a crockpot for this.
We (that is to say my wife and I) also do hot toddys a fair bit. Muddle 15g of sugar with a slice or two of citrus in a mug, add a standard shot of liquor (whisky, rye, rum, brandy, gin according to preference), fill with hot water. Toddys are more of a British Isles thing though.
Lots of folks just drink beer, regardless of the weather.
posted by bonehead at 11:31 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Similar to Caribou, Sortilege is wonderful as well. It's not usually served hot, but would be excellent in coffee.
posted by bonehead at 11:34 AM on January 15, 2015
posted by bonehead at 11:34 AM on January 15, 2015
I've had mulled wine a lot, but generally coffee or hot chocolate plus something (they are usually named after countries, though what alcohol goes with what country seems to be up in the air).
I've always been fascinated by hot buttered rum, though.
posted by jeather at 12:00 PM on January 15, 2015
I've always been fascinated by hot buttered rum, though.
posted by jeather at 12:00 PM on January 15, 2015
I'm from the Northeast US and we drink hot (alcoholic) cider, hot toddies and Irish coffees. I'm not a huge fan of hot alcoholic drinks myself, so I might be leaving some things out, but this is what I'm familiar with here.
posted by Shadow Boxer at 12:07 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by Shadow Boxer at 12:07 PM on January 15, 2015
I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US, and in cold weather I will sometimes order a Ski Lift, which is hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.
posted by stennieville at 12:24 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by stennieville at 12:24 PM on January 15, 2015
I like to drink mulled cider (with an optional dose of Wild Turkey). I didn't really drink much mulled wine until I moved to Milwaukee (and a native told me about it), so that might mean something.
posted by Fister Roboto at 2:37 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by Fister Roboto at 2:37 PM on January 15, 2015
I might as well add my datapoint then, that in rural Minnesota Tom & Jerries were the hot drink of choice for winter family get-togethers.
posted by traveler_ at 3:05 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by traveler_ at 3:05 PM on January 15, 2015
Best answer: I had an xmas party this year and my awesome Mexican friend made us delicious ponche
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:12 PM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:12 PM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Of interest: Boilo - Traditional Yuletide drink of the Coal Region
Couple of things on this - first and foremost, please, please be extremely careful with this. I grew up in the coal region and every winter there were a handful of house fires due to making boilo. Good stuff, but be EXTREMELY careful or make it in the crockpot
Also, boilo needs cheap whiskey not good stuff and cheese cloth is awesome to filter out some of the pulp. Boilo is also like meat loaf, everyone has their own recipe but it's all pretty much the same base ingredients, you need to play around with it to make it your own. I double the raisins and leave out the lemon and add mango.
posted by lpcxa0 at 3:53 PM on January 15, 2015
Couple of things on this - first and foremost, please, please be extremely careful with this. I grew up in the coal region and every winter there were a handful of house fires due to making boilo. Good stuff, but be EXTREMELY careful or make it in the crockpot
Also, boilo needs cheap whiskey not good stuff and cheese cloth is awesome to filter out some of the pulp. Boilo is also like meat loaf, everyone has their own recipe but it's all pretty much the same base ingredients, you need to play around with it to make it your own. I double the raisins and leave out the lemon and add mango.
posted by lpcxa0 at 3:53 PM on January 15, 2015
Response by poster: These answers are awesome. I had never heard of Caribou, Boilo, or Ponche before this. Sortilege both backs up the assertion that Canadians will put maple syrup in or on anything and gives whole new meaning to the title of this opera.
In re: Tom & Jerry, my wife spent her early childhood in Edina, MN and has distinct memories of her parents making them, but I don't know if it's a recipe they picked up there or one her dad brought with him from Michigan. I've understood its popularity to be generally upper midwestern, but my dataset has not been large.
Keep them coming!
posted by fedward at 5:02 PM on January 15, 2015
In re: Tom & Jerry, my wife spent her early childhood in Edina, MN and has distinct memories of her parents making them, but I don't know if it's a recipe they picked up there or one her dad brought with him from Michigan. I've understood its popularity to be generally upper midwestern, but my dataset has not been large.
Keep them coming!
posted by fedward at 5:02 PM on January 15, 2015
My favorite cold remedy is also a tasty hot drink:
To a large mug of strong black tea add a tablespoon of honey, a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous shot of dark rum.
posted by islander at 5:17 PM on January 15, 2015
To a large mug of strong black tea add a tablespoon of honey, a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous shot of dark rum.
posted by islander at 5:17 PM on January 15, 2015
Response by poster: I was trying to figure out what was so risky about the linked Boilo recipe. It seems it omits moonshine, for which a modern substitute is Everclear. "At this point in the recipe, the Boilo may explode."
posted by fedward at 5:21 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by fedward at 5:21 PM on January 15, 2015
In Poland we had a warm/hot beer drink. Yumm!
posted by leslievictoria at 7:58 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by leslievictoria at 7:58 PM on January 15, 2015
Best answer: Lithuanians drink krupnikas, which is delicious but very, very sneaky (drink carefully, it packs a punch!)
posted by seawallrunner at 8:16 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by seawallrunner at 8:16 PM on January 15, 2015
Weighing in from Wisconsin to support the wonder that is a Tom and Jerry! Get a mug or Irish Coffee glass and drop in a shot of brandy and a shot of dark rum with a heaping tablespoonful of the delicious batter, which is stored in the freezer. You can make your own batter but in winter time the grocery and liquor stores all carry it. Then pour boiling water over the whole thing. Bonus points: provide a Pepperidge Farm Pirouette cookie for use as a stirrer/additional treat. Oh and if there are kids/non drinkers around, you can make the drink without the alcohol and it will be tasty. If I weren't out of the country, I'd drive down to Milwaukee and stage an intervention for desjardins, who should not be deprived of one of the Badger state's special treats!
But I grew up in Massachusetts, where in addition to hot buttered rum, Irish Coffee, glug, alcoholic cider, etc., we also drank Schnappes in hot cocoa.
posted by carmicha at 2:08 AM on January 16, 2015
But I grew up in Massachusetts, where in addition to hot buttered rum, Irish Coffee, glug, alcoholic cider, etc., we also drank Schnappes in hot cocoa.
posted by carmicha at 2:08 AM on January 16, 2015
I am Mexican (from Tijuana) and we drink champurrado (and other atoles), Mexican hot chocolate, and if it's early enough, coffee with cinnamon tea and honey. All of these can have shots of rum.
posted by cobain_angel at 11:34 AM on January 16, 2015
posted by cobain_angel at 11:34 AM on January 16, 2015
I made mulled ale this Christmas and it was delicious. I plan on making it from now on. Otherwise the hot drink here in the Bay Area tends to be Irish Coffee or a toddy.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:31 PM on January 16, 2015
posted by oneirodynia at 4:31 PM on January 16, 2015
oneirodynia's answer reminded me, I had mulled beer in Poland in winter a few years ago. Beer meaning lager. It was rank.
posted by biffa at 1:00 PM on January 20, 2015
posted by biffa at 1:00 PM on January 20, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Wikipedia sez:
Swedish businesses include the bar Simon's Tavern, a former basement speakeasy, which serves the Swedish wine drink as glögg, and Svea restaurants.[7] At one time there were more Swedes in Chicago than any city outside of Stockholm.
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:59 AM on January 15, 2015 [2 favorites]