Cheers
Delicious holiday drinks.

By Stephanie Rosenbaum

YOU DON'T REALLY have to think much about party drinks the rest of the year. But along with all the spicy cookies and candy canes and fruitcakes of this season come warming, spicy beverages you'd never drink in March or August: eggnog, hot toddies, anything laced with chocolate and peppermint. The rule is, roughly: if it's hot, cinnamon, whiskey, and whipped cream will make it better; if it's cold, make it sparkly, minty, or red.

One of my favorite San Francisco Christmas mornings happened at the funky old New Dawn Café: everyone in the place was happily yoyo-ing between Bailey's and eggnog and diesel fuel coffee.

The eggnog back then was straight out of a Safeway carton, but for those without raw-egg issues, homemade eggnog is lavish and astonishing. Or you can try cola de mono, a cool Chilean Christmas drink that's creamy and coffee-flavored, laced with orange, cloves, and cinnamon and stiffened with a dose of brandy or pisco, a potent Chilean spirit that's most likely behind the drink's name, translated as "tail of the monkey." Mulled wine, like mulled cider, will make your house smell delicious. And because there's a quality of ceremony about it – the simmering, the spices, the ladling out into waiting cups – it makes guests feel coddled. It tastes like the vin chaud of Paris cafés or the gluwein of Swiss ski towns. Glogg, the Swedish version, is a different drink altogether: the addition of aquavit makes it deceptively potent. Traditionally, the aquavit is also usually warmed and set on fire before the warmed wine is poured in, a technique rife with opportunities for disaster. The recipe below skips that step, but even so, serve in the smallest glasses you have, and be prepared with a lot of nonalcoholic distractions and snacks.

For morning (or midnight) sparklers, the tart bite of fresh tangerine juice (which Odwalla sells by the gorgeous, sunset-orange quart during the winter) livens up any glass of champagne. Garnet pomegranate seeds look particularly festive right now. Jessica Strand, author of Chronicle Books' snappy little Holiday Cocktails, suggests drizzling half an ounce of Chambord, a deep purple French raspberry liqueur, into a flute of champagne and floating a half dozen glistening seeds on top. As she notes, "Every time you take a sip, pomegranate seeds will rise and fall, dancing in the champagne bubbles." Wheee!

Eggnog

6 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup brandy or rum

2 cups cream

2 cups milk

1/8 tsp salt

Freshly grated nutmeg

Beat egg yolks until light, thick, and lemon colored. Beat in sugar. Slowly beat in brandy or rum, cream, and milk. Set aside. Beat egg whites and salt until stiff. Fold egg whites into cream mixture. Chill thoroughly. Serve topped with freshly grated nutmeg.

Cola de mono (tail of the monkey)

1/2 cup water

2 sticks cinnamon

5 whole cloves

1 whole nutmeg

2 long strips of orange peel

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbs instant espresso powder

2 quarts milk

2 cups brandy or pisco, or to taste

1 tsp vanilla extract

Place water, spices, and orange peel in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add instant coffee and sugar and stir to dissolve. Add milk, brandy or pisco, and vanilla. Let cool. Strain and chill.

Candy cane hot chocolate

4 Tbs unsweetened cocoa, such as Droste's

4 Tbs light brown sugar

5 cups milk

2 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Peppermint schnapps

Whipped cream (optional)

Mini candy canes

In a medium saucepan, mix cocoa and sugar together with a little milk to form a smooth paste. Add rest of milk and heat gently. When mixture is warm, add chocolate. Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is frothy. Pour into mugs and add peppermint schnapps to taste. Top with whipped cream and hang a candy cane over the edge of each mug.

Glogg (adapted from Holiday Cocktails, by Jessica Strand)

1 bottle full-bodied red wine

peel from 1 orange

seeds from 2 whole cardamom pods

4 whole cloves

8 sugar cubes

4 cups aquavit or vodka

blanched almonds and raisins for garnish

Put red wine, orange peel, spices, and sugar into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and let simmer gently for 10 minutes. In a separate pan, warm aquavit over low heat until just warmed through. Place sugar cubes into a warmed punch bowl. Pour warmed aquavit over sugar, then add in strained wine. Place several almonds and raisins in each mug, fill with glogg, and serve.