Hot winter cocktails for Christmas: 3 festive drinks

When it's freezing cold outside, your body longs for something warm. This applies not only to the food, but also to the drinks. It's no wonder we love being hot in winterwarm. But not everyone likes wine. And that forms the basis of mulled wine, Glögg, Feuerzangenbowle and other punch.

We therefore looked for recipes for warm winter cocktails that have a different spirit as a base:Rum. The fermented sugar cane juice has a velvety sweetness that harmonizes wonderfully with Christmas spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. Accompanied by exotic ingredients, the rum cocktail can even evoke Caribbean feelings in winter.

Everyone is guaranteed to get their money's worth with the following three winter cocktails - the hot-blooded tropical fans, the purist connoisseurs and the gentle chocolate worshipers. We hope you enjoy mixing, feasting and warming up!

Im Video:Instructions for homemade eggnog

When it is winter in our latitudes, it is summer in the tropics. The pineapple harvested there is actually a winter fruit and is also considered an international symbol of hospitality. Perfect for making a sociable winter cocktail. Of course, in the company of rum, the pineapple is immediately reminded of its homeland.

You need these ingredients:
For 4 servings
For the pineapple skewers

This is how the preparation works:
For the pineapple skewers:Preheat the oven with the grill function and place the pineapple cubes in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, pepper, cinnamon and salt. Pour the mixture over the pineapple cubes and mix everything well.

Then place the pineapple cubes side by side on a baking tray lined with baking paper and caramelize under the grill for 2 to 4 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and place 8 cubes on each of 4 decorative skewers.

For the pineapple grog:Slit the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the pulp. Place allspice, pepper, cloves and cinnamon in a saucepan and toast over medium heat until the spices begin to smell, about 2 minutes.

Add the pineapple juice, rum, brandy and vanilla pulp and pod and simmer briefly, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat significantly and let everything simmer for another 15 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the solid ingredients. Divide the grog between 4 heatproof glasses and serve with 1 pineapple skewer in each.

Also delicious:

Butter for the fish? Nope, we prefer to add butter to the rum and make it even silkier on the finish. So that we don't have the lamps burning straight away, we dilute the brown rum with a little hot water for this Christmas cocktail.

This gives us a hot, alcoholic drink in which the blob of butter can melt. If you like, you can also refine the whole thing with winter spices.

You need these ingredients:
For 4 servings

Preparation is so easy:
For the rum:Mix the rum with 700 ml hot water. Put 1 tablespoon of vanilla butter in each of 4 preheated grog glasses and pour over the rum.

For the vanilla butter:Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir. Set aside until needed. If you want to prepare the vanilla butter a little longer in advance, cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge. However, the butter should return to room temperature before use.

Alternative: Recipe for hot rum with butter and caramel
Put 60 g granulated sugar and 60 ml water in a saucepan and heat the sugar on medium heat for about 6-8 minutes. Shake the pot occasionally until the mixture turns dark brown and begins to smoke. Then quickly add 700 ml of water. Warning: This may splash a bit! Now stir until a smooth mixture is formed. Stir in the rum and continue as described above.

Tipp:The vanilla butter not only tastes good in hot rum, but also on toast. Simply double the amount of ingredients listed for the butter and store the butter in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Do you love hot chocolate with a shot? You can have it! Because cocoa with rum would somehow be too boring, here are the instructions for a hot white chocolate with ground macadamia nuts, tangy lemon and pink pepper. For a change, it's not brown rum that ends up in the cup, but rather white rum.

You need these ingredients:
For 4 servings

This is how the preparation works:
Finely grind the macadamia nuts and sugar in the food processor. Place milk and pink pepper in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from the heat and let the milk steep for about 15 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the solid ingredients. Pour the milk back into the pot and stir in the ground nuts. Let it simmer briefly, then reduce the heat.

Stir in the white chocolate and salt; the chocolate should be completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the lemon juice into the mixture. Divide into preheated cups, finish each with a generous dash of white rum and serve, sprinkled with pink pepper if desired.

Reading tips:

Particularly nice: The book contains exciting ideas for home-made liqueurs and syrups to mix even more Christmas cocktails. You simply have to ignore the fact that recipes with cream, eggs and condensed milk are often very high in calories. After all, every now and then it is permissible to sin.

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