Hot Drink

Everything else is just noise.

This chai is definitively ginger-forward. Feel free to add a little more maple syrup if you like it on the sweeter side. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

Thicker and creamier than the typical hot chocolate and embellished with both amaro and espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, use strong coffee instead.

Whether you like it classically creamy, bittersweet, spicy, or spiked—we've got just the recipe.

Instead of vanilla extract for this Mexican hot chocolate recipe, try almond extract if you’ve got it handy, which adds even more depth of flavor. Go one step further and pair it with this churros recipe.

If you want to mellow this out a bit, use strong coffee or a couple teaspoons of espresso powder instead of the freshly made espresso.

Any dark caramel-flavored liquor will work with this; it’s particularly good with rye whiskey or rum.

If you’re feeling really decadent and fancy (as you should), add a splash of half-and-half or heavy cream just before serving.

If you’re in a hurry, you can use very strong coffee instead of the espresso, and warmed half and half or cream instead of the steamed milk.

Customize this chai recipe blend by adding a crushed cinnamon stick or big pinch of grated fresh ginger to the first step.

The hot toddy is not simply a mixture of hot water and booze. It’s a miracle worker, a doctor, and a life coach in a cup. And although it does seem to do the trick for everything from a sore throat to a cough, it’s just as good when you’re healthy. This version—from Damon Boelte, bar manager at Prime Meats restaurant in Brooklyn—omits the usual honey or sugar and plays up the herbal and spicy notes instead.

Just when you finally figured out the coffee scene, hot chocolate gets the single-origin treatment too.

Nutrients are lost when ingredients boil, so steep this cold-and-flu-buster at a relatively low temperature.

An unexpected way to revamp hot chocolate.

Be careful not to boil the tea. It will give you a cleaner flavor and be more nutrient-rich.

Try chocolate-covered espresso beans in place of the coffee beans for garnish.

The Guinness cream lends a malty, slightly bitter richness to this Irish classic.

They use a pour over coffee method, pouring the whiskey and water over the coffee right at the bar.

Simple syrup can be made ahead in larger batches and stored in fridge.

The lemony sugar syrup that results from muddling citrus zest and sugar is called an oleo saccharum, literally, “oily sugar.”

Classic hot chocolate is steeped with ancho chile and a cinnamon stick, then spiked with anise liqueur for a darkly delicious winter cocktail.

The addition of an anise-flavored liqueur turns this hot cocoa into the liquid version of chocolate-covered licorice.