Just over two weeks into the year, I’ve broken my unrealistic resolutions. I have been consuming ungodly amounts of hot cocoa with whiskey (topped with towers of Reddi-wip; I’m gross) while daydreaming of more temperate climates. True, the darkest days are behind us now, and the spurious sacredness of the season for eggnog and gingersnaps gone with it. But even though the light returns, the temperature’s still downshifting, and these are quiet days that call for something more romantic, beyond the common winter cocktails.
Flavors I normally find cloying, robust or way too aromatic for the summer find their ways into my cup (imagine that) on colder nights. Smoky, intense and heavy are the themes of the season, as opposed to the milder, more tender flavors of its summer counterpart.
And what I love most about drinking on these nights is that the city can feel pretty slow-mo in a filmic kind of way. When the buildings are fuzzed out in fog and I want to prolong this feeling of living in film noir (versus a summery pop song), I go for rich, comforting textures and winter fruits lolling in a bath of booze. These are my picks:
(Continue to Poor Taste)
