Recipes for Warm Drinks for Chilly Evenings
Temperatures might be warming up during the day but these warm drinks are for those chilly evenings that you want to spend outdoors.
21/08/2023
Adding warmth to
your beverage menu when the evenings are chilly has
more to do with it than just the addition of
something with a high temperature. Warm colours
such as reds, oranges and yellows invoke
feelings of happiness, optimism and passion.
These are the bright colours of warming winter
drinks including gluhwein and turmeric spiced
milk.
Warming ingredients in cold
beverages include spirits, wines and spices like
chilli, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. This list of
warming ingredients surprisingly also includes
flavours of beetroot, carrots, chocolate and
savoury umami tastes that include mushrooms,
ginger and soy sauce. Warming ingredients also
include a variety of spices that heat up the
body and keep chills away. Think nutmeg and
cinnamon sprinkled on top of warm drinks and
these spices are healthy too as they help to
reduce inflammation.
Did you know? Studies reveal that ginger relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow that will keep you warm during chilly evenngs.
Winter drinks
popular among South Africans consist of many of
these warming colours, spices and ingredients.
Take for instance the remedial yellow-coloured,
hot Med-Lemon, the malt-flavoured Horlicks
drink, the revitalising, lemon- and
whisky-fuelled hot toddy, or the relaxing glass
of locally made Pinotage.
As Head
Mixologist at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront,
Melrick Harrisson comments “The idea of a
beverage giving warmth has to do more than
whether it is heated or not. Cold drinks
containing ginger or even coffee can give us the
feeling of being warmed from the inside out.
Tropical fruits such as mango are
nutritionally-rich in sources of B-complex,
alpha an beta carotene, vitamins A, C, and E.
“What’s more, plenty of these ingredients
are locally made and farmed and readily
available to those wanting to try something new
and delicious,” he adds
Cinnamon is renowned as the winter spice and for good reason. Cinnamon has thermogenic properties that have the ability to raise the temperature of your body. It also helps to support healhy blood sugar levels.
As our intake of
juices and water decreases in comparison to
summer, the focus should be on consuming as much
liquid as possible to stay hydrated. “The added
value of thinking of the warmth of colours,
scents and spices is that enjoying a wintery
beverage can become a multi- sensory experience
where the senses of sight, smell and taste are
all used,” ends Harrison
Whichever way
you choose to add warmth to your beverage menu
this winter, make sure to remember that variety
will go a long way in inspiring you to stay
hydrated in the cold.
Here are Radisson
Blu Hotel Waterfront Head Mixologist, Melrick
Harrison’s warming winter drink recipes.
Biscotti Martini
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
50ml Musgrave pink gin
20ml
Amaretto liqueur
35ml Espresso
10ml Lucky
Byrd Ginger Syrup
5ml Simple Syrup
Mint
sprigs
Method:
Add all ingredients to a shaker. Add ice and give it a good shake. Strain into a martini glass and serve garnished with three to four coffee beans and a sprig of mint.
White Sage Gluhwein
Serves: 5
Ingredients:
6-8 mint leaves
5
sprigs of sage
125 local chenin blanc
25
ml of pineapple, vanilla and orange syrup - made
by boiling 100 ml pineapple juice, 1 vanilla pod
and until syrup consistency
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp allspice
4 cloves
25ml any orange
liqueur
Method:
Mix all ingredients
besides the pineapple syrup in a pot on the
stove. Bring to a boil. Garnish with pineapple
syrup. Serve warm.