Two Drinks Offer Warm Holiday Cheers

“Spanish? Coffee

1 ounce of infused brandy or cognac (cognac is just a brandy from a specific region of France)

1 ounce of coffee liqueur

4 ounces of coffee

Glass Rimmer:

1/2 tablespoon sugar

a couple of pinches of cinnamon

a couple of pinches of nutmeg

a couple of pinches of allspice

Infused brandy (this is enough for one-fifth bottle)

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

2 cloves

You will start to taste some imparted flavor in as little as 15 minutes. However, best to leave it overnight or even up to a week. Any longer than that, you will start to get a lot of bitterness from the cinnamon bark.

Mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together and place on a flat plate.

Moisten the rim of a coffee cup, place in the above mixture.

Now add the brandy, coffee liqueur, and coffee. Please finish with whipped cream and a cinnamon dusting, if you so desire.

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Lemon Ginger Hot Toddy with Calvados

2 ounces of lemon juice

2 ounces of simple syrup (or ginger syrup if you really love ginger – recipe as follows)

2 ounces of Calvados (apple brandy) or dark rum, whiskey, or bourbon

4 ounces of very hot water

Bring all the ingredients together. Drop in a lemon ginger tea bag, let steep for approximately two minutes. Remove bag and enjoy.

Recipe for simple syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Bring to a boil. Immediately take off the heat. Allow to cool

Recipe for ginger syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 lemon ginger teabags

Bring to a boil with the teabags (remove the string and paper). Immediately take off the heat. Allow to cool, garnish with a lemon.