Warm Up The Holidays

So you’ve been drinking beer, wine, maybe the standard mixed cocktail, and you’re stuck in a drink rut. What are you going to do to get out of it? Well, it’s officially the Holiday Season.

There will be parties to attend, family gatherings to host, Thanksgiving dinner to eat, Christmas presents to open. Why not use the holidays as a chance to break out of your mold and try some new drink recipes? Oh yeah, and it’s cold outside! So how about a spiked coffee or hot chocolate drink to warm you up?

When picking the right hot spiked drink for your occasion, you need to take into consideration the food and the mood, two very important variations in helping you decide on the right holiday drink. Hot spiked drinks typically complement after-dinner foods and conversations. So set your mood right with one of these popular holiday drinks.

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Grand Marnier Hot Chocolate

This drink is thick with cream, real melted chocolate, Grand Marnier and a hint of orange zest. You’ll get a pretty strong cup of hot chocolate with this recipe, so don’t let the innocent orange taste fool you.

1 cup half-and-half

2 cups milk 1⁄2 cup orange juice

1⁄3 cup Grand Marnier

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Heat half-and-half, milk and orange juice until just boiling. In a mixing bowl, add about 2 ⁄3 cup of hot milk mixture to the chocolate and whip smooth. Add the rest of the milk mixture and whisk again. Simmer for about 2 minutes to reheat through. Add Grand Marnier and serve.

Jamaican Coffee

Tia Maria is always a fine addition to a cup of coffee, adding even more coffee flavor and a bit of vanilla sweetness. And a good shot of Jamaican rum doesn’t hurt either. Top it off with freshly whipped cream.

5 cups hot coffee

2 ounces (double shot)

Tia Maria 1 ounce (single shot) white rum

5 ounces thick cream, lightly whipped

Mix the coffee and liqueurs in a saucepan and heat through. Serve in brandy glasses and topped with cream. Serves 6.

Lenny Liebler – Paul’s Supermarket

Irish Coffee

1 cup hot black coffee

11⁄2 ounces Irish whiskey

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. whipped cream

Combine coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar; top with whipped cream and serve.

Kahlua Hot Cocoa

1 ounce Kahlua

5 ounces prepared hot cocoa 1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. whipped cream

Combine Kahlua and cocoa in Irish cream cup, sweeten to taste. Top with whipped cream, sprinkle with grated chocolate and serve.

Amaretto Iced Coffee

3 cups coffee

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 cup milk

1⁄4 cup amaretto 2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

Combine everything in a blender and whip until smooth. Fill glass half full with crushed ice, fill the rest with coffee mixture and serve. I hope you will enjoy these recipes and have a great holiday season.

Randy Foote – Lake Liquor

Hot Raspberry Peppermint Patty

1 ounce peppermint schnapps

1 ounce raspberry liqueur

Pour liqueurs into a large coffee mug. Fill mug with hot chocolate. This recipe also can be made with or without the raspberry or peppermint—it’s great either way. Another variation would be to add a topping. New this year is Whipped Lightning, a 36-proof whipped topping that comes in different flavors including white chocolate raspberry.
The early winter of 2007 brought a heavy ice storm to the area. Like so many others, we found ourselves without power for five long days. With only a worthless fireplace and each other for warmth, my wife Connie and I quickly became huge fans of this recipe. I used Swiss Miss for the cocoa. I had to heat the water in a camp stove on the grill outside, but it was well worth the trouble; besides, it was no colder outdoors than in. Since then, I have bought a generator as insurance, but maybe one day we’ll turn off the furnace and make some more of the special hot chocolate just as a reminder of the good part of that week. I may have to make some tonight!

Patrick Lubina – Fragile Baby

3⁄4 ounce Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur

3⁄4 ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream

61⁄2 ounces regular or French vanilla coffee

2 ounces real whipped cream

Pinch ground cinnamon

Pour Frangelico and Bailey’s into a 10-ounce coffee mug. Add coffee, top with whipped cream and garnish with cinnamon.
Bailey’s Irish cream coffee topped with whipped cream and garnished with ground cinnamon has always been a popular after-dinner or dessert drink. I see it as a good base for improvisation, and a great warming complement to dessert or even as dessert, as in the case of the Fragile Baby. You also can add a bite to Irish cream coffee with a shot of Jamison Irish Whiskey. Have a Rumpy Baby, bursting with the flavor of a creamy candy cane by adding Rumplemintz, or a belly-warming Grand Baby, made with the orange cognac Grand Marnier. With all the different liquors, flavored liqueurs and schnapps available today, the possibilities are nearly endless. So when you’re trying to decide what to drink on a cold winter evening; start with Irish cream coffee, add your imagination and create your own libation to add a little spice and warmth to body and mind. To all the non-coffee drinkers out there, these suggestions work wonders on hot chocolate too.

Kelly Glenn – HY-VEE, Osage Beach

Almond-Chocolate Coffee

3⁄4 ounce Amaretto Almond Liqueur

1⁄2 ounce Dark Creme de Cacao

8 ounces hot coffee

Pour, in order, into heavy coffee cup. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, if desired.

After-Dinner Mint

1⁄2 ounce White Creme de Menthe

3⁄4 ounce Southern Comfort

1⁄2 ounce Vodka

Stir together in bottom of large mug and fill with hot chocolate.

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