By Elyse Glickman
Yes, Virginia, there is life after the holidays—along with more reasons for your customers to savor heated cocktails.
Hot versions of favorite bar drinks are poised for a comeback in 2021, according to “Do The Hustle,” a report about 2021 food, beverage and hospitality trends from af&co and Carbonate. That report, which says classics like the Hot Toddy, Hot Buttered Rum and Irish Coffee will outlast the holidays, also predicts creative new cocktails that incorporate hot tea, mulled wine, cider and coffee will emerge.
And their popularity won’t depend on the weather, industry pros say.
“As people are going to be outdoor dining year-round for the indefinite future, I think hot cocktails will be a welcome presence along with heaters and heat lamps,” says bartender and Licor 43 brand ambassador Mike Nardelli. “[And] after a long day at the beach surfing or paddle boarding any time of year, one of my favorite things to do is go into a local watering hole and have a hot toddy before I head home just to warm up,” he adds.
“While cool weather is the best sales pitch for a warm drink, if the season does not match the simple sell, there are other reasons [to order a hot cocktail],” echoes Hayden Miller, head bartender for Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami, Florida. “Although I relocated from the Midwest to South Florida, where the difference in climate is noticeable, there is something special and evocative about a warm cup of something wonderful on a cool patio.”
Bar master Manny Hinojosa, global brand ambassador for Tequila Cazadores and Tequila Corzo, also believes adding seasonal ingredients and flavors can prompt customers to rediscover warm cocktails any time of year.
“In a fine dining Mexican restaurant setting, a warm drink made with seasonal fruit can be a lovely alternative to a dessert, especially if the diner doesn’t want to end the meal with something heavy,” Hinojosa says. “[A] warm peach and ginger toddy also pairs beautifully with familiar desserts like flan. In the spring or summer, the beautiful spices in the drink, along with a seasonal fruit, can take the chill out of a spring evening, or actually cool one off in the summer.” The Hot Apple & Orange Toddy and Hot Chai Spice are examples of other hot cocktails Hinojosa has created. (Click here for Hinojosa's toddy recipes.)
NEW TWISTS ON TRADITIONAL BEVERAGES
Mexican and Latin restaurants— long go-to destinations for icy Margaritas, Palomas and Mojitos—already have the ingredients and flavor profiles to create compelling warm cocktails. And their options go beyond inventive riffs on hot coffee drinks, according to Nardelli, who says bartenders can use traditional, non-alcoholic Mexican drinks as starting points.
Nardelli’s colleague Juan Martinez, for example, has jazzed up champurrado—a thick, warm chocolate-based atole made with masa harina, piloncillo, and water or milk—with Licor43. Another example Nardelli has seen popping up in Los Angeles restaurants is the quintão, a traditional Brazilian grog made with cachaça and spiced cider.
Ponche—a hot fruit punch typically served during the holidays in Mexico—is another example. Chef Sergio Remolina, vice president of culinary for Taco Cabana in Dallas, says childhood memories of drinking ponche inspired him to create a cocktail version for Taco Cabana. Remolina’s version starts with a base of black tea to balance out the sweetness that comes from the fruit in the cocktail.
“We wanted to create a version of the ponche that not only speaks to holiday season festivities but also what things are actually in season in Mexico through the winter months,” Remolina explains. “Our recipe includes guava, cinnamon, orange peel as well as fruits more commonly found in Mexico, such as tejocotes (crab apples and tamarind pods.”
In addition to the Rum Tea Ponche, Taco Cabana also offers Café de Olla—both “rooted in Mexican traditions,” Remolina says. “You’ll find Café de Olla, traditionally made in a clay pot sweetened with piloncillo, served in Mexico all year-round. It has found its way into Texas, where it is served throughout the winter months.”
“The Café de Olla also works great in the morning,” adds Chef Chelsea Lietz, corporatechef for Taco Cabana, who says that’s important to note since people are spending more time at home and ordering brunch to go this year. In addition to offering “the comforting aspect of the heat,” Lietz notes that adding ingredients like fresh fruit and spices the way Taco Cabana does makes hot cocktails “a new experience for many of our customers who did not grow up with Mexican traditions.”
SPIRITED CHOICES
Ivan Vasquez, owner of Los Angeles’ Madre Oaxacan Restaurant & Mezcaleria, embraces the chance to craft hot cocktails that use popular spirits in creative new ways. Take mezcal, a current customer favorite: Vasquez uses it in his Agave Hot Toddy, a cocktail he believes will catch on “because of everything that makes it different from other mezcal drinks being served right now.” (Click here for the Agave Hot Toddy recipe.)
This decidedly “different” cocktail is made with a three times distilled mezcal, tea Vasquez imports from Oaxaca, plus cinnamon, honey and a slice of lemon. “The way the mezcal is made is not too smoky [so it] allows the natural flavors of the tea to shine through,” Vasquez explains. “It’s also a great way for customers who love mezcal to experience it hot, and in a way they have not tried before.”
In addition to mezcal partnering well with tea, Bodega Taqueria y Tequila’s Miller says some gins and softer whiskies also are good backdrops for botanicals with hints of citrus. He also likes Mexican rums as a base, as they open “a window of funky flavors to experiment with, [as well as] the savory notes from other bottlings.”
Hot coffee also pairs well with mezcal, notes Vasquez, who says staff members sometimes suggest hot coffee with a shot of mezcal—just the way it’s served in Oaxaca.
“With customers who don’t like mezcal, we can offer the Oaxacan coffee with a shot of tequila or whiskey added and start a conversation about the ingredients of the finished cocktails,” he adds.
ALTERNATIVES TO CREAM
Many hot cocktails—especially coffee-based creations—rely on dairy products for smoothness and flavor. But using dairy-based ingredients can create challenges: they aren’t shelf-stable and often impart a heaviness many customers no longer enjoy.
“We tried to create a warm cocktail with Oaxacan coffee and our house-made whipped cream,” says Vasquez. “While the final result was great, it was too labor-intensive, and we found out that the whipped cream expired after a day. Because of the necessity to keep things fresh, our recipes have to be simpler, with less sugar and heaviness.”
And as Miller notes, heavy drinks made with cream and alcohol are usually a harder sell beyond dessert. One new trend brewing in that space is a move toward plant-based dairy alternatives.
At Sobre Mesa in Oakland, California, for example, the Cremosa de Cocoa cocktail blends spiced rum, red wine, sweet potato liqueur, chocolate, toasted marshmallow, ginger, and [non-dairy] coconut crema.
CONCENTRATES, INFUSIONS AND SPICES
For bars looking to reconcile quality and convenience in their to-go offerings, Miller suggests preparing a concentrate from tea to make your syrup and simply introducing a lower temperature water to the cocktail.
“This ensures you will not be over-heating the spirit, giving the nose too much bite from fumes while still incorporating your tea flavors,” he says.
With availability and cost of fresh ingredients also a major concern, some establishments are turning to shelf-stable cordials, shrubs and fruit purees to create seasonal creations, especially in times where togo drinks are the rule. Nardelli says tea-infused spirits and tea-based ingredients are becoming more commonplace to achieve fresh flavored cocktails, either hot or cold.
“There’s a lot of versatility when you get into infusions in base spirits,” Nardelli explains. “You can infuse 20 bottles of tequila with different teas, add lime juice, and you’ll have 20 different cocktails as a result, including some that taste best heated.”
According to Remolina, health-conscious consumers are steering themselves towards more interesting spice combinations. “In addition to cinnamon, we’re talking about star anise, cardamom, peppers and other spices that warm us up,” he says.
MARKETING TIPS
Even with many curious customers looking for something new, there will be others hesitant to get beyond their cold comfort zone. Those preaching the wonders of the heated cocktail have a few effective strategies to get them to warm those customers up to the concept.
Promoting warm cocktailson brunch menus is one option, according to Taco Cabana’s Chef Lietz, who says they are right in line with the return in popularity of morning or brunch cocktails, especially as winter chill lingers in some places.
Making drink names “awesome and catchy” is another approach, Nardelli says.
“Furthermore, with everyone spending so much time at home in the past year, the idea of being out and having that hot drink served in cool glassware or with a memorable backstory will make people want to order it,” he adds.
Presenting warm cocktails as a “special of the day” also can help.
“Make sure you have all the information about regular warm cocktails and specials on your online menus to grab their attention,” Hinojosa says. “When customers get to the restaurant, encourage them to try these cocktails and explain what makes the special of the day truly special. I like to call the warm cocktails ‘night caps’ as they can end a meal and an evening—on or off premise—on a cozy note, made more beautiful with the mix of fruit, teas spices and spirits. In addition to citrus fruits, which are always go-to ingredients for Mexican cocktails, you can keep interest up throughout the year with peaches, cherries, berries and other fruits—in the shelf-stable forms like puree, of course.”
Click here for a champurrado recipe, and click here for two hot toddy recipes. And click here for the recipe for Espresso 433.
A PRIMER ON TO-GO COCKTAIL PREP
With to-go cocktails becoming a way of life for restaurants during this era of COVID-19, it’s important to know how to best prepare and package all of the cocktail ingredients. Here, Manny Hinojosa, global brand ambassador for Tequila Cazadores and Tequila Corzo, explains how to make th experience a safe and tasty one for customers who order hot cocktails for at-home consumption.
“You have to package the drink for to-go orders using two different containers. One will contain the spirit-based ingredients such as the base tequila, rum or whiskey along with additional spirits or liqueurs. The other will hold the nonalcoholic parts of the mix,” Hinojosa says. “Supply the customer with verbal and printed instructions, cautioning them not to heat the alcohol. The only thing that should be reheated is the mix in a microwave-safe coffee mug, and for only the period of time written in the instructions. After about 30 seconds,
# # #