As it begins to get chilly and words like “polar vortex” and “arctic blast” hang in the air, it’s time to bring out the iPhone-friendly gloves, the scarves, the hats and awkwardly large puffy coats.
While you’re doing everything to stay toasty outside, here are three hot cocktails that will keep you warm all season long.
Start first at the newly opened “dessert speakeasy” Spirited (638 Bergen St., Prospect Heights, 718-783-5700, spiritedbrooklyn.com). With Kimberly Wetherell at the helm, this may just be the booziest place in the borough. To pair with your desserts (which are infused with local spirits and bitters), Spirited is offering a number of hot drinks like the Tilden Toddy ($12), with Laird’s Applejack, Calvados, Sorel Hibiscus liqueur and lemon honey syrup (which I imagine would also work wonders on a winter cold). Later in the season you can also expect potent coffee cocktails and mulled wine and ciders.
Buzz uptown to The Roof at the Viceroy hotel (124 W. 57th St., 212-707-8008, theroofny.com). Under cozy blankets and strong heaters, you can sit outside and sip the Snowday ($18), a glass mug of hot chocolate spiked with Stoli Vanilla. The whole thing is topped with whipped cream and crushed star anise, for a grownup twist on a classic kiddy fave. Coming later in the season, The Roof will be constructing a cozy glass ceiling, so you can see the elements without having to brave them.
And then there’s the cocktail standby Dead Rabbit (30 Water St., 646-422-7906, deadrabbitnyc.com), which has several options to warm up with, including the steaming hot Long Point ($14), complete with whisky, Remy Martin 1738 cognac, a Jamaican rum blend, lemon and bitters. For something sweeter, go for the Benecia Boy ($14), with Powers Gold Label Irish Whiskey, coffee, demerara sugar, heavy cream and nutmeg, or the spicy Paradise Square ($14). The tavern labels it as “Ambitious”; I call it “too hot for that puffy coat.”
Ariel Kanter is an editor at Gilt City.
