Mastering The Art Of Warm Serves — Explore Classic Techniques For Blending Winter Cocktails
Winter cocktails such as the hot toddy cocktail or the hot buttered rum are blends characterised by their spiced profiles and layered spirits. These are warm winter drinks, made to suit the dropping temperatures outside are crafted using techniques which require mixology knacks that match the need of the season. So, making cold weather cocktails essentially involves mastering the right spice, flavour and temperature of the blend.
What Is A Warm Or Hot Cocktail?
Alcoholic drinks which are served hot require more than just adding a spirit to a warm mixer. This is a delicate technique that requires paying close attention to temperature and texture. In fact, when a cocktail is too warm, it can dull the edges of the spirit and make it lose out on some of its lighter flavours and aromatic touches. Too high a temperature could also extensively alter the texture of a drink, making it seem burnt. A warm cocktail is one that is served at just the right warm temperature, wherein spiced or smoky spirit bases become slightly smoother and the flavours of other ingredients and mixers blend in a well-balanced manner into the liquor’s tasting notes.
The Build-In-Mug Method
Pre-heating the serving mugs before crafting the cocktail ensures that the drinks maintain their temperatures for a longer duration. Perhaps the simplest method to craft a warm cocktail, it involves assembling a drink directly in a pre-warmed mug or a heatproof glass. The method can especially be used to prepare drinks like the hot toddy such that all the ingredients required to prepare the cocktail including whisky, honey, lemon and assorted spices can be added directly to the serving mug before topping them all off with hot water.
Another winter staple which can be prepared in the same manner is a classic Irish coffee cocktail with coffee, sugar, Irish cream liqueur and Irish whisky, that can be brought together in a pre-warmed glass mug and stirred gently to craft the classic. Top this off with a dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.
The Bain-Marie Technique
A cooking method which essentially involves using a double-boiler like system to warm food and drink, the Bain-Marie technique can be put to use for making delicate cocktails which require warm temperatures that prevent them from scorching or smoking excessively. Very simply, place the cocktail mix in a heatproof bowl and set it over simmering water as you would a vessel for melting chocolate. This technique is an absolute winner for making cocktails like mulled wine, spiced ciders or liqueur-based hot chocolates—blends that are served warm without necessarily exposing them to too much flame.
Also Read: Masala Martini Cocktail: 5 Ways Indian Bartenders Are Stirring Up Their Blending Game
The Flambé Technique
Another hack to master warm cocktails in the winter is the flambé—which involves a bit of a theatrical flair in order to concoct drinks at a home bar setting while hosting a party, as a way to add some drama for the evening.
Using a flame or a blowtorch to slightly scorch the base spirit or the cocktail garnish to lend the drinks a warm effect and bring a smoky touch into them. Try this technique, fire safety concerns permitting, while making a brandy float or to lend a charred, smoky effect to an orange peel garnish nestled over a whisky-based cocktail.
When making warm cocktails, what’s essential is knowing the different spirits that would work well in the wintertime blends
– Whisky works beautifully in toddies, hot buttered serves and mulled-style infusions.
– Rum is an excellent spirit to pair with caramel, citrus and tropical spices for rich, dessert-like cocktail blends.
– Brandy or cognac are interesting alternatives to add to creamy or coffee-based blends.
– Coffee liqueurs or Irish cream liqueurs work rather splendidly in cocktails as they add silkiness and depth to latte-like or espresso mixes.
As one employs different blending techniques to craft warm winter cocktails with these spirits, do pay attention to the flavour balance by way of:
– adding citrusy elements like lemon slices or orange wheels to brighten deeper spirits.
– use sweeteners like honey, maple syrup or jaggery syrup to soften pronounced notes.
– spices like cloves, cinnamon and star anise would work well when steeped in warm water.
– add a festive touch to warm winter drinks with roasted citrus wheels, brûléed sugar or a dusting of nutmeg.
Key Takeaways
– The hot toddy cocktail or the hot buttered rum are wintertime blends characterised by lightly spiced flavours and deeply layered spirits.
– Different techniques can be used to craft drinks during the cold weather; some of these classic methods necessitate a bit of mixology knack.
– Techniques such as the build-in mug method, the Bain-Marie or flambé are among the most straightforward, classic mixology hacks to make warm cocktails.
FAQs:
Q. What exactly is a warm, wintertime cocktail?
A warm cocktail is one that is served at exactly the right level of warm temperature, in which the sharpness of spiced or smoky spirit bases mellow slightly along when flavours of other ingredients and mixers blend into the liquor’s tasting notes for a fine flavour balance.
Q. What constitutes the Bain-Marie technique for making winter cocktails?
Making winter cocktails using the Bain-Marie technique essentially involves prepping a double-boiler like system over the stove, to gently increase the temperature of a cocktail without scorching it too much. The cocktail can be added to a heatproof bowl and set over simmering water.
Q. Which are some of the spirits that work well in warm cocktails made during winters?
Spirits such as rum, whisky, cognac or brandy as well as certain coffee or cream liqueurs are among those which work well in warm winter cocktails.
*All cocktails listed use 30 ml liquor measurements for single serves. Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
