Nobody wants to sip a cocktail full of ice in the middle of winter. We rounded up some of the best hot cocktails at bars and restaurants to ride out the cold weather.
I Dream of Greenie
Former Waldorf-Astoria executive chef John Doherty is taking things a little bit more casual these days with the new bistro-cafe Blackbarn inside Chelsea Market. Winter-perfect dishes like grilled tuna Nicoise and mission fig pizza are accompanied by the wellness-minded I Dream of Greenie, made with Hendricks gin, steamed coconut milk, honey syrup and Black Barn’s own matcha blend. 75 Ninth Ave., Chelsea
Frequent Flyer
We love a good pun, but Lucinda Sterling of venerable cocktail den Middle Branch was also thinking of something else when creating her Frequent Flyer cocktail. “Aviation Gin, which dials back its juniper, is highly versatile,” she explains. Harmoniously paired with orange-fennel syrup and hot turmeric-ginger tea, it sounds exactly like the immune system boost this weather requires. 154 E. 33rd St., Kips Bay
Hot Buttered Rum
Chef/owner Greg Baxtrom makes sure the backyard garden of 2016 best restaurant Olmsted remains open to guests even during winter with lots of heat lamps and Pendleton blankets. Round out the experience with the new Hot Buttered Rum cocktail made with a blend of Goslings and Smith & Cross rums, spiced butter (brown sugar with cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice) and freshly grated nutmeg on top. 659 Vanderbilt Ave., Prospect Heights
Xocolat
If you don’t know, now you know that Paper Coffee has another way of warming you right up: The menu switches to cocktails by night. For the winter, they’re serving several hot drinks including the Xocolat, which should melt any chill away with chili-infused mezcal, Valrhona chocolate, cinnamon and orange zest. 44 W. 29th St., Flatiron
Cowboy Coffee
Times Square’s Knickerbocker Hotel has once again transformed the club room of its St. Cloud bar into the Alpine ski lodge Après at The Knick. Settle in amid the birch accents, faux fur throws and candles to sip their new menu of five hot cocktails including the Cowboy Coffee, a maple-accented mix of Guatemalan coffee, Anejo tequila, angostura and cinnamon. 6 Times Square, Theater District
Erborista
Stop in for Italian-Mediterranean vibes at Vic’s for chef Hillary Sterling’s pastas and pizzas, followed by the Erborista: a housemade blend of dehydrated juniper berries, caraway, cardamom, coriander, lavender, lemon leaves, mint, rosemary, sage, lemon and lime peels is steeped to make tea, then blended with gin and rosemary honey. 31 Great Jones St., NoHo
Minty Hot Chocolate
The heated tents atop the Arlo SoHo Hotel, with twinkle lights, blankets and board games have been this winter’s Instagram hit. Appropriately, they also serve an extensive menu of drinks you’ll remember from camp, plus the stuff the counselors were passing around when they thought you weren’t looking. Try the Minty Hot Chocolate, with housemade cocoa mix, vodka, mint, whipped cream and mini marshmallows. 231 Hudson St.
La Pomme d’Hiver
The world’s most Michelin-starred chef Joël Robuchon returned to the city late last year with L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon — and, in case you’re not flush with tasting menu cash, the more casual Le Grill out front. Sidle up for La Pomme d’Hiver (Winter’s Apple): Calvados apple brandy shaken with pear eau de vie, apple cider and housemade winter spice cordial, capped with cinnamon bitter cream. 85 10th Ave., Meatpacking District
Tunisian Toddy
New fashion-inspired bar Rag Trader’s basement sister Bo Peep has its own cocktail menu created for the decadence you’d expect from a hidden piano bar. Settle into a plush velvet banquette for the Tunisian Toddy of bourbon, rye, Moroccan spice, lime and mint tea. 70 W. 36th St., Garment District
Winter Warm-Up
Madison Square Garden-adjacent Mustang Harry’s just underwent a major renovation to go from sports bar to gastropub, adding cozy alcoves and leather banquettes. Wrap your frozen fingers around a Winter Warm Up, combining all the flavors of the season with spiced frothed milk, bourbon, vanilla bean, cinnamon and nutmeg. 352 Seventh Ave., Midtown West
Yippee Ki Yay
Because we all need a little psyching up to go out in this weather, channel your inner John McClane at Williamsburg’s all-day restaurant Sunday In Brooklyn with the Yippee Ki Yay: mulled red wine with Calvados (apple brandy), Lo-Fi Gentian amaro and grapefruit. 348 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg
Harvest Time
Those apples picked during the fall harvest season are still keeping us warm at greenmarket-inspired Chinese restaurant RedFarm. Beverage director Shawn Chen blends BenRiach’s 10-year-old Peated Curiositas scotch with Campari, ginger syrup, yuzu juice and warm apple cider. “The cocktail’s flavor profile mimics an apple: sweet, tart and appetite-inducing, with a hint of smoke,” he says. 529 Hudson St., West Village; 2170 Broadway, Upper West Side
Muir’s Medley
This elevated take on a hot toddy is both farm-to-table and way more boozy. At vegan restaurant P.S. Kitchen, which donates all profits to social causes in the city and beyond, bar manager Shawn Clayton-Patrick makes the Muir’s Medley with homemade sweet potato and pumpkin spice-infused Bourbon, Rozelieurs smoked whisky, Black Sheriff rum and house vanilla and cider. 246 W. 48th St., Midtown West
The Ciampino
Discerning drinkers know The NoMad Bar well, but it’s during winter that its library-style decor really makes it the perfect hideaway. So how does the country’s best bar do hot chocolate? With trendy bitter ingredients, of course: Green chartreuse gives the cocoa depth, while a touch of Italian fernet and a dollop of Angostura cream turns an indulgence into a mellow digestif. 10 W. 28th St., NoMad
Rooftop Toddy
Don’t fear the winter atop the Viceroy Central Park hotel, where its 29th-floor bar The Roof has been converted into the Winter Room (through March) with snowy branches, blankets and comfy pillows to go with its panoramic view of the wintry city below. Along with a special menu of fondues, the bar is serving a Rooftop Toddy made with Bacardi Oakheart spiced rum, hot apple cider and cinnamon syrup, garnished with star anise. 124 W. 57th St., Upper West Side
Slane Irish Coffee
Former Dead Rabbit bartender Pam Wiznitzer has her own take on Ireland’s warming beverage at her own Upper East Side cocktail den Seamstress. Her Slane Irish Coffee cocktail goes for a “round and rich” flavor with Slane whiskey, simple syrup and a heady dose of overproof (that’s in caffeine) brewed coffee, topped with a cream float of heavy cream whipped with powdered sugar and fresh cinnamon. 339 E. 75th St., Upper East Side
