Winter drinks - Recipes & inspiration - Cold & hot drinks for winter

Fruity, creamy, high-proof or simply a good beer - we show you a few absolute must-drinks for the cold season. Whether you're looking for specific recipes or just inspiration, you'll find it here.

Winter drinks - hot and fruity

From the classics mulled wine and fruit punch to hot cocktail variations: The combination of fruit and heat always goes down well - and can even be healthy. If you prepare your hot drinks with fresh fruit, use little sugar and keep temperatures moderate, you'll get a real vitamin bomb. Our mulled gin probably isn't exactly that, but it's still damn tasty. Here is the recipe.

Mulled gin

You will need around five glasses:

• 500 ml naturally cloudy apple juice
• 1 l grapefruit juice
• 500 ml ginger beer
• 2 organic oranges
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 5 pieces of star anise
• gin

Preparation:

1. Peel and squeeze one of the oranges.
2. Place the peel in a pan with the juices, spices and ginger beer and leave to infuse on a low heat for approx. 20 minutes (do not boil!).
3. Cut the second orange into slices.
4. Pour into a mug, top up with a dash of gin and serve garnished with orange slices.

Citrusy gins with a rather subtle juniper aroma are best suited for this. For example:

• Gin Liebe Dry Gin with orange & mandarin
• Bavaricus - Munich Dry Gin with hop blossom
• floral gin Rose Valley Special with tonka bean & cocoa
• KEINGIN Botanical Infused Spirit completely without juniper
• The Wild Alps William Morris Dry Gin from Switzerland
• Smutje Gin with intense citrus aromas

Can't have winter without mulled wine? Then we have just the thing for you! In our article on mulled wine, you'll find a really good recipe, tips and interesting facts about this cult drink.

Winter drinks - the creamy ones

If you prefer something less fruity, it's best to opt for dairy products on snowy winter days. Whether it's a hot chocolate (with or without a shot) or a spiced latte - nothing creates as much comfort as the feeling of creamy, warm, prepared milk on the tongue. Coffee specialties simply taste best with milk, especially in winter. However, the most exciting milk creation for winter does not come from a cow.

Our tip: golden milk

Sweet, spicy, tangy - and simply delicious! What you need for this Ayurvedic drink:

Ingredients for the golden milk

• approx. 500 ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp hot water
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp ginger (ground)
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• ¼ tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Mix honey and spices.
2. Dissolve in 2 tbsp hot water.
3. For the hot version, pour the honey and water into a pan with the coconut milk and bring to the boil.

Golden milk can also be drunk cold. Simply mix the honey water with the coconut milk and serve.

A real treat even without milk, but with eggs and cream: Eggnogg, also known as eggnog in this country. Refined with rum, eggnog is a great creamy alternative to mulled wine.

High proof hot drinks

Rum is generally ideal for cold weather. The sugar cane schnapps cuts a fine figure in the Feuerzangenbowle, in grog or in punch. But we have another recommendation for you: Whisky. It is used in an Anglo-Saxon classic, the hot toddy. It's very easy to make:

Ingredients for two mugs of hot toddy:

• 4 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 250 ml boiling water
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp honey
• nutmeg
• 80 ml bourbon whisky

Preparation:

1. Place two cloves, a small cinnamon stick and a piece of lemon peel in each mug.
2. Squeeze the juice from one lemon and mix it with 2 tablespoons of honey, a pinch of nutmeg and approx. 80 ml of bourbon whisky.
3. Pour 250 ml of boiling water over the whisky mixture. Stir well and serve.

Winter gin? Winter gin!

Hot drinks are all well and good, but sometimes it just has to be a gin and tonic. The Roshain gins or the spicy hop gin from Braumanufaktur Hertl are particularly suitable on cold days for a chilled, yet seasonally appropriate gin cocktail or long drink. The botanicals in Monsieur Sauer's winter gin, which you can also buy in our store, have even been specially adapted for cold weather.

You can find more gin recipes for the whole year here: Gin recipes

Beer for the fourth season

The perfect winter beer? Of course, it always depends on individual taste. But just as fruity, fresh hop explosions make every summer evening unforgettable, some beers carry the flavor of a memorable winter evening. Dark ales and stout varieties in particular are suitable for snowy evenings in front of the fireplace due to their generally heavy, sweet notes. Some breweries even brew dedicated winter beers. Here are our winter beer recommendations:

Orca Brau All that glitters is gold - Winter Spiced Ale

Felix vom Endt has added a spice-packed festive beer to his sophisticated range: All that glitters is gold is brewed with cocoa beans, orange peel, cinnamon and ginger. The result is a wintry beer creation that puts you in the festive mood with its full body, spicy warmth and malty variety.

Taste: Malt, smoke, winter spices

Price: from € 3.51

Orca Brau All that glitters is gold - Order Winter Spiced Ale now

Überquell Honey Brown Winter Ale

The Honey Brown is a perfect match of hearty forest honey and fine Belgian malts. The aromatic, dark winter ale smooches with sweet honey and you'll be as keen on the sweet drop as Pu the Bear is on his honey pot. Your belly will be warm and cozy, with a grin on your face like a honey cake horse ... that's Winter Ale Magic!

Taste: sweet and malty

Price: 3,90 €

Order Überquell Honey Brown Winter Ale now

Schoppe Bräu Wintermärchen - Weizen Doppelbock

Wintermärchen is a creamy wheat bock that stands out from Bavarian wheat beer with its strong caramel notes and wintry festivity. With an alcohol content of 8.0%, this light wheat bock manages to provide a little warmth even on the coldest winter days.

Taste: fruity, bitter, delicately sweet, strongly malty

Price: from € 3.51

Schoppe Bräu Wintermärchen - Weizen Doppelbock order now

Stone Brewing Chocoveza Imperial Stout

This beer makes your mouth water just by reading the list of ingredients: In addition to the usual suspects, there's cocoa, coffee, chili, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg on the label. This promising blend makes for an extremely successful winter beer, inspired by spicy Mexican drinking chocolate.

Taste: Dark chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, roasted coffee

Price: 3,50 €

Order Stone Brewing Chocoveza Imperial Stout now