Want to curl up on the sofa with a mulled cocktail? These delicious hot toddies will warm your cockles on a chilly evening…

Autumn is well and truly upon us, isn’t it? The days are a little cloudier, the evenings a little darker. And, as many of us continue to work from home, we’re still having to spend our lunchbreaks navigating puddles and fierce winds down the local park. 

Basically, we all know that the British winter weather sucks. So we can be forgiven for wanting to curl up indoors, stick the TV on, and listen to the rain hammer against the windows from the comfort of our own sofas.

Of course, when we get home after a rainy walk, the first thing we want to do is warm up. And, while turning up the thermostat and kicking off our sodden socks is a good start, there’s nothing quite so warming as a hot toddy or a mulled wine. 

But, for fans of mother’s ruin everywhere, we’ve found something even better: warm gin cocktails.

That’s right – gin isn’t just for summer anymore.

In the London of yesteryear, the Thames would freeze over and become a playground for all in the city, hosting a plethora of wintery gastronomic delights. As people didn’t have central heating, they kept themselves warm and cosy with hot drinks. And, yes, the majority of them were alcoholic.

Lightly spiced, beautifully aromatic, and full of heady botanicals, a glug of gin is the perfect base for a winter warmer.

Anyone else tempted to whip one up to stave off this winter chill? Then scroll through for our favourite hot gin recipes for autumn and winter, and remember to drink responsibly.

The best warm gin cocktails

• Mulled Apple with V.J.O.P

  You will need:

  1 cinnamon stick
  Peel of 1 large orange
  Peel of 1 large lemon
  Small knob of fresh ginger, grated
  1 litre carton apple juice
  2 tsp runny honey
  50ml Sipsmith VJOP per person
  1 orange wedge per person

  Directions:

  1) Add the cinnamon stick, orange and lemon peel, and a sprinkle of the grated ginger to a large saucepan.
  2) Pour in the apple juice and place the pan over a low heat, simmering for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
  3) Stir in the honey
  4) Strain the mixture into a jug
  5) Pour into glasses filled with 50ml of gin
  6) Garnish with orange wedges

• Hot G&T

  You will need:

  50ml Sipsmith London Dry gin
  25ml tonic syrup
  10ml sugar syrup
  A twist of orange peel

  Directions:

  1) Combine your mixture in a glass, before topping off with boiling water
  2) Garnish with an orange twist
  3) Enjoy!

• Hot Gin Skin

  You will need:

  1 spoonful of honey
  50ml Sipsmith London Dry gin
  3 dried cloves
  ½ measure of lemon juice
  1 lemon slices
  1 cinnamon stick

  Directions:

  1) Warm a glass
  2) Add a spoonful of honey, as well as your gin, cloves, and juice
  3) Top with boiling water and stir until the honey has dissolved
  4) Garnish with lemon slice and cinnamon stick

• Hot London Cup

  You will need:

  50ml Sipsmith London Cup
  100ml cloudy apple juice
  100ml orange juice
  An orange segment

  Directions:

  1) Gently heat the juices together in a pan over the stove, until warm and simmering.
  2) Pour over your gin and muddle them together.
  3) Garnish with a wedge of orange, and serve.

• Spiced Mulled Sloe

  You will need:

  50ml Sipsmith Sloe Gin
  100ml cloudy apple juice
  100ml clementine juice
  A cinnamon stick
  1tsp vanilla extract
  3 whole cloves
  A clove-studded orange wheel

  Directions:

  1) Pour your glug of gin into a glass.
  2) Meanwhile, heat the juices together gently, with the cloves, vanilla extract, and cinnamon stick.
  3) Strain the mixture into your gin tumbler, and mix together
  4) Garnish with the clove-studded orange wheel

• Purl Royal

  You will need:

  150ml London Dry Gin
  1l of Madeira red wine
  100ml cloudy apple juice
  100ml satsuma juice
  90g demerara sugar
  5g of hops
  2 cloves
  1 dessert spoon of honey
  1 pinch of cinnamon
  2 dashes of Angostura bitters
  1 star anise
  1 cinnamon stick
  Orange wedges

  Directions:

  1) Combine all ingredients (bar the cinnamon stick and wedges) in a large pan and bring to a simmer
  2) Keep on the heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
  3) Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes – you want it to be a drinkable temperature
  4) Strain it into glasses
  5) Garnish with orange wedges and cinnamon stick, if desired

This article was originally published in November 2019, but has been updated throughout.

Images: Sipsmith, iStock

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