As Turist.ru notes, these drinks have a long history. Back in the Middle Ages, frozen city dwellers warmed themselves before Christmas with a cup of heated wine, and after the discovery of America, coffee and chocolate appeared in Europe, adding variations to what can warm not only hands and body but also the soul on cold evenings. The most popular winter drinks of the ancients were wine or beer with spices and sugar, mead with or without fruit, sbiten, cider, and all were served hot. Recipes for such warming drinks are easy and can be freely made at home.
Sbiten and Todddy
For example, sbiten is very simple to make. It is obtained by diluting honey in water and boiling it down for a quarter of an hour. Meanwhile, you should brew sbiten seasonings – herbs and spices or berry juices, then combine both parts and bring to a boil. Sbiten is drunk only hot. The word 'sbiten' itself comes from the verb 'sbit' (to knock together), but only in the sense of 'joining, bringing together heterogeneous parts', not 'whipping'.
The traditional Irish drink toddy is the closest relative of Russian sbiten. True, in modern toddy recipes it does not need to be brought to a boil. To make 'Pink Toddy', you will need 35 ml vodka, 25 ml raspberry liqueur, two teaspoons of honey, 100 ml boiling water, lemon, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. The ingredients should be mixed in one glass and allowed to steep for 10 minutes.
Cider
Another ancient winter drink is cider, whose recipe is over 1000 years old. To make real cider, three to five varieties of apples are used, depending on the harvest. It should be sweet without added sugar, with a slight sourness. Real cider is traditionally heated and drunk on long winter evenings in a tavern, sitting by the fire with friends.
Mulled Wine
Mulled wine – heated wine with the addition of spices, seasonings, fruits, sometimes honey and water – is a German invention, and even its name comes from the German 'gluhende Wein', 'flaming wine'. There are many recipes for mulled wine, but they all follow the main rules: the wine can be red or white, fortified or dry, but must be of good quality. The spices and zest are first boiled for a few minutes in a small amount of water, and only then is the wine added.
Grog
Another hot winter drink is grog. It differs from mulled wine in that its main ingredient is non-alcoholic: black tea, originally spiked with rum, but in practice any strong alcoholic drinks. Grog appeared in the 18th century thanks to the firm hand of English Admiral Vernon. In those days, under contract, every sailor was entitled to a daily portion of rum. But whether the sailors became too rowdy after drinking, or whether rum became more expensive, in 1740 the admiral ordered his subordinates to be given rum diluted half with water. The sailors did not take long to figure out what to do with such swill: it turned out that hot it was much more pleasant than cold. Over time, sugar, honey and lemon, even crushed caramel and whipped cream began to be added to grog (which, incidentally, was the admiral's nickname). And rum was considered replaceable with other strong drinks – cognac or lemon vodka.
Punch
Punch, which we consider a traditionally English drink, was invented far from England. The real birthplace of punch is India. The word punch comes from the ancient Indian 'panch', meaning five. The five components of punch were mandatory: wine, rum, fruit juice, sugar or honey, and spices (cinnamon, cloves, tea).
The general technique for making punch is as follows. Boiling water is poured into the container in which the drink will be served. This is done to make the punch bowl hot and retain heat for the heated wine. In an enameled saucepan, heat the wine to 65-70 degrees Celsius. At the same time, add sugar (or honey) and spices. Care must be taken that the temperature of the wine does not rise above 70 degrees. Juices from lemons and oranges are squeezed into a glass. Some of the citrus fruits are torn into segments or sliced into rounds with the peel. As soon as the wine has reached the set temperature, it is poured into the prepared container, the juice is quickly strained, the citrus slices or rounds are transferred there, rum is poured in, and through a sieve – the hot spiced wine. Spices should not get into the finished punch. The container is covered with a lid and immediately served. Both grog and punch are poured into thick-walled clay or porcelain cups: the drinks should not cool down, otherwise the taste is lost.
Now there are many variations of this drink; even beer can be its base. For example, here is a recipe for beer punch with eggs. Take one liter of beer, six tablespoons of sugar, one cinnamon stick, four raw eggs, and four tablespoons of rum. Boil the beer with sugar and cinnamon, gradually pour in the rum. Then remove the drink from the stove, strain, and mix with the eggs. And immediately pour into mugs. Coffee punch is made on the basis of coffee, mixing it with equal parts of heated vodka and cognac. This drink should be served in small coffee cups, as it can knock even an elephant off its feet. But it will certainly warm you up.
Cocoa
At ski resorts in the Austrian Alps, another warming drink is popular, which is very easy to make at home: hot cocoa made with milk and the addition of two teaspoons of cognac. After being out in the cold, this drink warms you up instantly.
Vitaliy MIROV.
Turist.ru