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Last month, we looked at recipes for the species of drinks called holiday cocktails. This month, we look at recipes for the genus of that species—the genus known as winter cocktails.
All of us have our favorites. Those cocktails we settle into at the end of the day while nights are cold. They’re like a ritual. They offer us easy comfort and familiarity, like sleeves of an old sweater we tuck our arms into day after day.
But these recipes ask us to leave our old rituals behind us. They invite us to the promise of a new year. They’re worthy of becoming our new winter rituals.
Pomme Punch
Jim Meehan is an acclaimed mixologist and author of Meehan’s Bartender Manual and The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender’s Guide.
He began his bartending career while he was a student at UW-Madison. According to Meehan, his recipe “straddles the line between Dick Bradsell's modern Treacle cocktail and historic recipes that feature cider, such as the Stone Fence and Wassail. Compositionally, it's a classic five-ingredient punch, with aromatic pot-distilled rum, citrus, maple as the sweetener and cinnamon as the spice. Easy to prepare and refreshing, it can be made one drink at a time or batched and served from an insulated pitcher or warming unit.”
Ingredients
- 5 ounces (hot) Cloudy Apple Cider
- 1 1⁄2 ounce Banks 7 Golden Blend Rum
- 1⁄2 ounce lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Method
- Combine in a pre-warmed tempered mug or punch cup
- Garnish with a lemon wheel and freshly ground cinnamon
Branca Menta Stinger
Dave Cornils, Bar Manager, Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, 1579 S. Ninth St.
“One of my personal winter favorites is a slight twist on a classic cocktail that's been around since the late 1800s, the Stinger,” Cornils says. “Combining two parts brandy or Cognac with one part light Crème de Menthe, it's got that minty sweetness that draws people to classics like the Grasshopper, minus the heaviness of a cream or ice cream base. Rather than using Crème de Menthe though, I like to sub Fernet-Branca Menta to add depth to the cocktail without making it any more difficult to prepare.
“Fernet-Branca is an Amaro that’s often referred to as “the Bartender’s Handshake” because a shot of Fernet-Branca is a commonplace service industry request. So, perhaps it's not that surprising that I would reach for a variety of Fernet-Branca when modifying this drink. Fernet-Branca Menta has the herbal complexity of the original, but it’s slightly sweeter, with, as its name suggests, more pronounced qualities of mint.”
Ingredients
- 2 ounces brandy
- 1 ounce Fernet-Branca Menta
Method
- Combine over ice in a rocks glass
- Stir and enjoy!
Wintry Improved Old-Fashioned
Ira Koplowitz, Co-founder, and Brandon Reyes, Research and Development Manager, Bittercube Bar & Bazaar, 4828 W. Lisbon Ave., Milwaukee.
“We love making and drinking classic Old-Fashioneds any time of year!” says Koplowitz. “But they’re especially rewarding during the winter months. And this riff leans into classic winter flavors, with the rich maple syrup and warm, aromatic Alchermes. Plus, the cedar-smoked glass evokes an evening of sitting by the fireplace.”
Ingredients
- 1⁄4 ounce Tapped Maple Syrup
- 1 1⁄2 ounce Old Grand Dad Bonded Bourbon
- 1⁄2 ounce Heirloom Alchermes Liqueur
- 2 dashes Bittercube Root Beer Bitters
Method
- Ignite a cocktail cedar, place the cedar on a fire-resistant surface, then place a Bittercube Cocktail Cedar Smoked Rocks Glass over the smoldering cocktail cedar, and let the smoke rest in the glass while building the cocktail.
- Combine all the ingredients in a stirring vessel, add ice, and stir until softened.
- Turn over the smoked glass, add fresh ice, and pour ingredients from the vessel into the glass.
- Garnish with a lemon peel by expressing oils from the peel atop the cocktail then adding the peel.
A Moonlight Mile
Joseph Kane, Beverage Director, Bacchus—A Bartolotta Restaurant, 925 E. Wells St.
“This cocktail is a variation of a Black Manhattan, which is seldom ordered but delicious,” he says. “I try to incorporate wine into any of our cocktails because, well, Bacchus!”
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Far North Spirits Roknar Rye
- 1⁄2 ounce Nonino Amaro
- 1⁄2 ounce Luxardo Abano Amaro
- 1⁄2 ounce Malmsey Madeira
- Dash Angostura Bitters
- Dash Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
Method
- Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass and add ice
- Stir and strain over a coupe.n Garnish and enjoy!
