Feeling the Cold? Special Ditmas Drinks Will Warm Your Soul

With a blizzard on the way, it may seem like you should hibernate at home and pray for spring. Don’t do that. Venture out to the neighborhood watering holes and partake in the great winter tradition of cold weather libations.

We visited several local bars/restaurants to see how they are helping their customers survive the cold, dark nights.

At the Highbury Pub on the corner of Cortelyou Road and Coney Island Avenue, bartenders are preparing cold weather classics like hot toddies, mulled wine, and Hot Apple Pies. Highbury’s soothing hot toddies are made from bourbon, honey, cinnamon, orange peel and cloves, and are topped off with hot water.

Highbury’s mulled wine uses a strong, dry red wine as a base, said bartender Aude Riviere. Then it is seasoned with star anise, allspice, and cloves. Highbury is also offering a hot ginger cider, a delightful concoction made from organic apple cider, fresh ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Patrons can have their ginger cider spiked with rum, bourbon or brandy, said Riviere.

And if that isn’t enough, think about enjoying Whiskey Wednesdays at Highbury, where patrons can sample all of the bar’s whiskeys, “from bottom to top shelf, two for one, all night.”

Just around the corner, at the 773 Lounge, the cold weather drink of choice is Jameson’s Irish whiskey, said owner John Bannon. “We sell more Jameson’s than anything else,” he observed.

Bannon said that 773’s cold weather cocktail options are about to expand. The totally renovated bar – which recently reopened after a devastating fire — is about to release a full cocktail and restaurant menu. Favorites like Irish Coffee, made from Baileys Irish Cream, whiskey, and coffee, will soon be on offer.

For a totally different take on cold weather drinks, try The Farm on Adderley, which is offering an Oyster and Stouts menu this month, featuring regional beers and oysters.

Stouts are perfect for the season, observed server Stephanie Marandi. They are a much heavier type of beer, and have warm notes, like coffee, caramel, and chocolate. The Farm will be serving stouts made right here in Brooklyn, and in Queens and New Jersey. Try one out and then pair these rich drinks with light, fresh oysters from Stony Brook, Long Island, and the West Coast.

Sycamore is serving up hot cider spiked with rum or whiskey, and topped off with cinnamon and cloves.

At Bar Chord, bartender Frank Zarate’s interpretation of the classic hot toddy would cure most cold weather ailments. It includes whiskey, honey, lemon juice, angostura bitters, cinnamon stick, orange peel, and cloves.

But even more interesting, Zarate is mixing stirred cocktails which he calls “winter appropriate drinks.”

These include the Elks Own, a whiskey-based drink with the addition of egg white and beach plum liquor from Greenpoint. Rich and frothy, “it’s really great to sip on,” he says.

Another whiskey-based offering is the Fireside, which is seasoned with ginger, cranberry juice, hard cider, cinnamon stick, and orange peel. The drink is not hot but “really nice to enjoy with this weather,” says Zarate.

And isn’t that just what we all need?