Best Hot Gin Drinks To Have This Season

But colder temperatures doesn’t mean having to give up on your favourite summer tipples; and this Gin-fanatic certainly isn’t ready for that. So while the perfect G&T is the best thing to cool down with on hot days, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the juniper-based spirit which don’t include ice-filled highball glasses.

From mulled punches to hot toddy-style tipples, here are the best hot Gin drinks for cold days.

Hendrick’s Hot Gin Punch

Hat tip to the Hendrick’s team for this one; a deliciously warming, spiced punch which swaps the usual Hendrick’s cucumber accompaniment for slices of citrus.

Ingredients:
- 50cl Hendrick’s Gin
- 50cl Madeira wine
- 6 slices of lemon
- 1 slices of orange (plus 1 additional slice for each glass for serving)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 3 chunks of pineapple
- 3 tbsp of honey
- 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5 cloves (plus additional cloves for each glass for serving)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes. Don’t let the punch boil. To serve, pour the hot mixture into a punch bowl or teapot and garnish with orange slices studded with cloves.

Cinnamon and Citrus Toddy

This gloriously spiced winter warmer uses cinnamon simple syrup, which can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to two weeks.

For the Cinnamon Simple Syrup:
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 cinnamon sticks, plus one for garnish

For the Cocktail:
- 75ml Gin
- 50ml cinnamon simple syrup
- 25ml lemon juice
- 1 dash Angostura bitters

First, make the syrup by combining 2 cups of water with the sugar in a saucepan. Add the 4 cinnamon sticks and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Discard the cinnamon sticks and put the syrup to one side.

To make the cocktail, heat the Gin, syrup, lemon juice, and 75ml of water in a pan. Remove from the heat and add bitters. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Purl Royal

A purl is an old-fashioned English drink which was popular in the 19th century, made by infusing ale with herbs, sugar and spices. A purl-royal swaps the ale for wine. Try this mulled wine and Gin concoction for a traditional taste of winter.

Ingredients
- 150ml Gin (something sweet, like Hayman’s Old Tom works well)
- 1 bottle of red wine
- 200ml cloudy apple juice
- 90g demerara sugar
- 3 cloves
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
- 1 star anise
- Satsuma segments and cinnamon sticks (for garnishing)

Add all the ingredients to a pan and simmer for 20 minutes over a low heat. Leave to cool slightly, then strain before serving. Garnish with pieces of satsuma and a cinnamon stick.

Gin Hot Toddy

A hot toddy, traditionally made with Whiskey, is thought to help relieve the symptoms of a cold; as Victoria Moore, author of How To Drink, puts it:


For those who don’t like Whisk(e)y (yeah, right), and those who really love Gin, this is the ultimate winter drink to put a spring in your step.

Ingredients:
- Juice of half an orange
- 1 tsp honey
- 50ml Gin (something with heavy juniper like Sipsmith works well)
- 2 Cardamom pods

Juice half an orange into a mug. Add a teaspoon of honey, and a good slug of Gin. Top with boiling water, bruise a couple of cardamom pods and add to the mix. Stir until the honey has dissolved, remove the cardamom pods, and enjoy.