Culture

Hot and Spicy Drinks for the Holiday Season

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When it gets too cold to walk outside without gloves on, it's time to change what you're drinking. Sure, booze-forward drinks like a Manhattan or straight-up whiskey works just fine, but sometimes you need to warm up with some actual heat. Whether it's a jalapeño-infused Tequila Gimlet, a hot-sauced Michelada, or a steamy glass of mulled wine, the spice and heat in these drinks will warm you right up. Well, at least until you have to walk outside again.

Check out our 14 favorite hot and spicy cocktails, and make sure to mix one up when you're chilly.

  • A dutch oven of mulled wine with floating apples cinnamon sticks and tangerines being ladled into cups
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    3/14

    Mulled Wine

    This heady mulled wine recipe is perfect for the holiday season—or any time you’re looking for something fragrant and cozy.

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  • Image may contain Drink Cocktail Alcohol Beverage Food Ketchup and Glass
    5/14

    Satan's Circus

    There's probably no one perfect hotel bar cocktail, but this one comes pretty damn close. (No wonder: The New York hotel is co-owned by Daniel Humm and Will Guidara of the restaurant Eleven Madison Park; EMP's Leo Robitschek oversees the drinks.)

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  • Image may contain Glass Beer Glass Drink Alcohol Beer Beverage Jug and Stein
    Zach DeSart
    9/14

    Bran’s Dram

    "If rum won't give you that warming glow of wellness, the hot tea will." -Benjamin Schiller, beverage director of The Berkshire Room

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  • Image may contain Drink Cocktail Alcohol Beverage Glass and Juice
    10/14

    Spiced Dark and Stormy

    The longer the spices infuse in the rum, the more flavorful this dark and stormy will be.

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  • Image may contain Drink Cocktail Alcohol Beverage Soda Glass Juice Beer and Beer Glass
    11/14

    The Best Bloody Mary

    This is the best Bloody Mary recipe because you make your own mix (which means you can customize it to your heart's content). And hey, don't forget the Guinness.

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  • Image may contain Plant Fruit Citrus Fruit Food Drink Lemonade and Beverage
    12/14

    Flor de Puebla

    "The finished concoction is quite spicy; remove the seeds and ribs from the chile to take it down a notch." —Zac Overman, Fort Defiance, Brooklyn

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  • Image may contain Drink Tea Beverage and Plant
    13/14

    Honey-Bourbon Toddy

    This hot toddy recipe, with honey, bourbon, and cinnamon, is the perfect cure for whatever ails you—cold, sore throat, you name it!

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  • 2 mugs filled with apple cider and a cinnamon stick in each cup
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    14/14

    Spiced Apple Cider

    This easy recipe for homemade apple cider doubles as aromatherapy.

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Danielle Walsh is the assistant web editor at Bon Appétit, and has also written for New York Magazine's Grub Street. She loves Korean food, tacos, and whiskey, and is trying really, really hard to like sardines. ... Read More
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