3 delicious winter cocktails to warm you up from the inside out

When the weather calls for staying inside, these winter cocktail recipes made with gin, whisky and sherry will elevate any night, whether you're hosting or solo.

Winter cocktail recipes | BEARFACE Bear Country Sour

When it's far too frigid to head out to the best bars in Toronto, but we're still craving something delicious, making a simple mixed drink at home just won't cut it. We want something that's as cozy and comforting as our footy pyjamas. That's why we've rounded up these winter cocktail recipes that will make any night in special, whether you're pairing them with your favourite show or a candle-lit, romantic dinner

Whisky aficionados will love BEARFACE, a Canadian dram aged in The Great White North's wilderness. Similar to a New York Sour, but with a homegrown twist, the Bear Country Sour recipe features lemon, sugar, egg white and a patriotic ice wine float. Gin cocktails are often associated with lighter serves, but the award-winning Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin is perfectly at-home in this Apple Pie Hot Toddy recipe. For an apple drink with a little more fizz, Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry elevates an apple juice and ginger-ale combo that's simple to make and even easier to drink.

Whether you're hosting friends and family or cozying in on a Friday night, these winter cocktail recipes are the perfect pick-me-up to make at home this season.

BEARFACE Bear Country Sour

Makes 1

Preparation time 5 minutes

Winter cocktails | BEARFACE Bear Country Sour

Ingredients

  • 2 oz BEARFACE Whisky
  • ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
  • ¾ oz sugar syrup
  • ¼ oz egg white (or substitute foaming agent)
  • ½ oz ice wine

Method

  1. Add all ingredients except ice wine to a shaker, fill the shaker with ice and shake until it’s very cold and you get around 1 oz of dilution.
  2. Strain into a double old fashioned glass, add plenty of ice to fill glass.
  3. Gently pour the ice wine onto the foam formed at the top of the drink so that it floats.

Glendalough Apple Pie Hot Toddy

Winter cocktails | Glendalough Apple Pie Hot Toddy

Makes 1

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1½ oz Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin
  • ½ oz Highbank Orchard Syrup or homemade apple syrup
  • ½ oz Monin apple pie syrup
  • 2 dashes orange bitters
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • ¼ oz lemon juice
  • 2½ oz hot water
  • 1 oz vanilla cream
  • Freshly grated nutmeg and a thin apple slice, to garnish

Homemade apple syrup

  • 8 oz good cloudy apple juice
  • 160 g demerara brown sugar

Vanilla cream

  • 2½ oz vanilla essence
  • 17 oz cream 

Method

Homemade apple syrup

  1. Combine apple juice and brown sugar in a small pan.
  2. Bring to a high simmer, and reduce to ⅓ of the overall volume.
  3. Cool before use.

Vanilla cream

  1. Mix vanilla essence with cream.
  2. Lightly whip until it will float.

Glendalough Apple Pie Hot Toddy

  1. Add Highbank Orchard Syrup or homemade apple syrup, Monin apple pie syrup, bitters, lemon juice and hot water to a pre-warmed glass.
  2. Pour in Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin and stir gently.
  3. Float with vanilla cream on top.
  4. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and a thin apple slice.

The Sweet Apple Zing

Sweet apple juice and a sherry full of herbal and caramel notes make for a sweet and festive sipper.

Makes 1

Preparation time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Method

  1. Fill a glass with ice.
  2. Add Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry and apple juice.
  3. Top with a dash of ginger ale.
  4. Mix with a cinnamon stick and leave it in the glass. Garnish with a spring of mint and apple slices.
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