10 Best Drinks To Warm Up With In Fort Greene And Clinton Hill

Heather Chin -
Photo courtesy of Cafe Paulette.

If there’s any upside to the freezing cold temps and icy winds we’ve been getting (besides the fun scarves and hats that are literally in season), it’s the fact that now we can warm up with some really fantastic hot drinks at neighborhood watering holes and restaurants. We compiled a list of some of our — and your — favorites below.

Mulled and Spiced Wine

  • Cafe Paulette‘s (136 DeKalb Avenue, at South Elliott Place) “Mr. Mulled” ($10/glass) has returned with its mix of cinnamon, cloves and spiced oranges, which give it a holiday feel.
  • Nero Doro (395 Classon Avenue, between Greene Avenue and Clifton Place) offers their mulled wine in three sizes — by the glass, half-liter, and liter ($6/$16/$29) — perfect for solo meals or group events.

Spiked Drinks

  • Moot Bar (579 Myrtle Avenue, at Classon Avenue) is less than a month old, but their hot cider, spiked with your choice of bourbon or rum ($8 or $6/happy hour), is a solid choice for chatting with neighbors at the bar. Also, dry off the cinnamon stick and take it home to add some spirits-laced fun to your next concoction.
  • If you want pub food to go with your drink, then head across the street to Brooklyn Tap House (590 Myrtle Avenue, between Classon Avenue and Taaffe Place) for a hot cider with whiskey for $6.
  • The moonshine hot toddy over at Hill Cafe (17 Putnam Avenue, between Cambridge Place and Downing Street) is also a great way to battle a cold or runny nose, especially as it’s got a hit of ginger and spiced apple slices.

Coffee

  • Reader Katie recommends keeping things interesting over trivia with Putnam’s Pub’s (419 Myrtle Avenue, at Clinton Avenue) Irish and Mexican coffees ($9/$8), made with Jameson and Kahlua, respectively.
  • We’re also partial to the mochas made at WTF Coffee Lab (47 Willoughby Avenue, between Adelphi Street and Clermont Avenue), where they can serve as veritable desserts.

Hot Chocolate

  • When we think hot chocolate, we think Castro’s (511 Myrtle Avenue, at Grand Avenue), where the regular stuff ($1.50) is perfect and the Mexican version ($2) will slap a grin on your face.

Tea

  • Baba Cool (64B Lafayette Avenue, between South Elliott and Fulton Street) has delicious food, but their chai tea ($3.50) is what goes with everything. It’s comforting and feels like a treat at the same time.
  • And finally, Jill Lindsey Cafe’s (370 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi Street and Clermont Avenue) new JL Tumeric Lemon Elixir is something that we’d have as an everyday drink.

Let us know in the comments below what you’d add to the list!