Baby, it's cold outside - finally.
As autumn fades to winter - Florida style-- nighttime temperatures are flirting with the freezing point, and the falling mercury on your thermometer is more than enough to turn you off of anything within spitting distance on an ice cube.
And let's not underestimate the correlation between end-of-semester stress and drink cravings (although the Avenue strongly discourages you from drinking until your organic chemistry textbook becomes interesting).
But don't freeze to death just to get your drink on. Instead, curl up in a blanket as you study with these delicious, warming holiday beverages.
Mulled Wine
This beverage goes way back and has been popular throughout Europe for centuries. In its simplest form, mulled wine is wine that is heated, spiced, sweetened and then further flavored with citrus.
Try it:
1 jug red wine
1 orange, halved and sliced
1 apple, halved and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
a splash of vanilla extract
1/2 cup rum or brandy (optional)
Pour the wine in a big jug, and add the other ingredients (except the optional) rum or brandy. Heat, stir, add rum or brandy (if desired) and serve.
Butterbeer
Channel your inner Harry Potter and stir up a pot of the old Hogsmeade favorite: butterbeer. As a bonus, this version contains alcohol, unlike the inferior, saccharine version served at The Wizarding World theme park.
Try it:
3 bottles beer (a strong amber ale is best, but feel free to experiment)
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoon butter
a few drops of vanilla extract
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
whipped cream
Heat your beer to just below a boil, and add the butter, brown sugar and spices. Stir until it's dissolved, top with whipped cream and serve.
Eggnog
Although the drink itself isn't warm, no holiday season is complete without eggnog. You could be like everyone else and buy an inferior product at the grocery store, but why not make a fresh batch - especially if you're looking for an excuse to procrastinate?
Try it:
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups milk
1 cup cream
dash of vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
nutmeg
dark rum
Mix the egg yolks and sugar until well blended, then add the milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Whip the cream a bit and add it to the mix. Beat the egg whites until they make stiff peaks, and fold them into the mixture. Pour a shot of rum in an 8-ounce glass, and fill it to the top with eggnog. Alternatively, add 1 ounce of rum and 3 ounces of holiday porter to a 12-ounce glass, and add eggnog to the top - now it's beer-nog.
