Cozy Up In Front Of The Computer With These Winter Cocktails Perfect for Binge Watching
The Watchlist presents- The Drinklist!
Here are some spirits to raise your spirits during these long winter months!
Sure you could go to a bar and find some fancy speakeasy with a suave bartender who makes a great martini, or you could stay at home in your obnoxiously seasonal pajamas and sip on our winter drink suggestions while you binge-watch your Watchlist. Guess which one we favor?
While there is nothing wrong with the aforementioned martini (and who doesn’t love a suave bartender?!) there is something particularly nice about a cocktail designed to be enjoyed during the colder months. Here are a few of our favorite sips to ride out the snowstorm while you stream:
1. Cognac French 75
Ingredients:
1 oz cognac
.05 oz lemon juice
.05 simple syrup *
Splash of sparkling wine or sparkling cider (or leftover champagne from new years? WHY NOT!)
*simple syrup is equal parts really hot water and sugar. So 1tbs sugar and 1tbs hot water. Mix them together and BAM simple syrup.
Directions:
Shake the cognac, lemon juice, and simple syrup and strain into a champagne flute. Top with the sparkling beverage of your choice. Garnish with a lemon twist so you feel fancy AF. Added bonus: chill the champagne flute in your freezer for about 5 minutes. Too lazy for that? You can make this drink in whatever glass/cup/mug you have on hand. Your couch won’t judge hun.
Swapping out the typical gin for the richer flavor of cognac makes this bubbling cocktail perfect for the colder months. Wondering watch to watch while you sip?
Try these: The Golden Globes, The People’s Choice Awards, The Indie Film Spirit Awards (Feb 25th), The Academy Awards (Feb 29th). Check your local listings for times.
2. A “New York” Sour
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
.75 lemon juice
.75 simple syrup
Red Wine floater
Directions:
Shake the bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup. Pour into whatever glass you feel like because you’re an adult who does what they want, damnit! But, we recommend either a double old fashioned glass, or a rocks glass. We recommend using something from the Cote du Rhone region, or a Beaujolais. Don’t have anything like that on hand? Any old red wine works too, don’t sweat it. Now for the fancy bartending part: a floater of red wine! This essentially means “pour red wine in”. If you are feeling fancy and adventurous, gently place a spoon in the glass so it is just below the surface of the drink, but the liquid isn’t filling the spoon yet. Now slowly pour the red wine on the spoon so it slowly splashes off and into the glass. This will create a cool layered look in the drink. Cognac mix on the bottom, red wine on the top! Look at you, bartending like a badass!
Now that you’ve totally nailed it and made a killer drink, why not enjoy it with some of these cool new shows: The OA, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wailing or Easy. All currently streaming on Netflix.
3. Rum Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
2 oz of Rum (the older and the darker, the better! ;))
1 bar spoon (aka 1tsp) of demerara syrup*
3 dashes of Angostura bitters
*demerara syrup is fancy ass simple syrup. Instead of the regular old white table sugar that simple syrup is made from, demerara syrup is made from raw, unprocessed sugar and hot water. Think the “sugar in the raw” packets at Starbucks or Whole Foods. Don’t have any of that in your house? Don’t panic, regular old simple syrup works too.
Directions:
Pour everything into a glass with a bit of ice. Or no ice at all. Or a lot of ice. YOU DO YOU BOO. If you’ve got it, a lemon twist will bring the rum and bitters together nicely. If not, screw it- who needs lemon anyway?
The darker rum with its molasses flavors will help bring out the allspice of the bitters, and make this a great winter take on the old fashioned. We think this will pair nicely with The Man in the High Castle, Goliath, The Night Manager, Z: The Beginning of Everything, or Good Girls Revolt. All currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
4. Spiced Cider
Ingredients
2 oz dark spiced rum
1 oz Grand Marnier
1 cup Apple Cider
Splash of cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail (the ocean spray stuff in the juice aisle works perfectly)
A cinnamon stick or two
Directions:
Pour the apple cider and cranberry juice into a mug with the cinnamon stick. Microwave for 2–3 minutes (until it is nice and warm) Once done, add the rum and Grand Marnier. Feeling extra? Try an additional 1 oz of reposado tequila. The darker rum mixes with the cinder and cranberry nicely, while the cinnamon and orange flavor from the Grand Marnier makes this a fun take on what is usually a fall drink. The additional tequila makes this perfect after a long, cold, winter work week.
Now go hide under a large pile of blankets on your couch and stream some of these delicious new shows while you sip: Chance, Shut Eye, 11.22.63, The Confession, and Up To Speed. All currently streaming on Hulu.
5. “Not Your Father’s” Rootbeer Float
Ingredients:
1 bottle of “Not Your Father’s Rootbeer”
1 big ass scoop of vanilla ice cream (or any flavor you have around because fuck it, you run your own life)
Directions:
Do you really need them? Okay, fine. Pour the rootbeer into a glass. Scoop the ice cream into the glass. Now drink.
Wondering what to watch with this adult take on a childhood fave? Try The Little Prince (Netflix), Charlotte’s Web (Hulu), or Zootopia (Amazon). Not feeling the childhood nostalgia? Try some go to fun classics like Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, or an older Batman. Still not feeling it? Jeeze, okay. Why not watch one of your favorites you haven’t seen in a long time? There.
Mandy is an Indie filmmaker and long time bartender. Drink and film suggestions are always welcome. Give her a shoutout on Twitter anytime @MandyFreeze
Follow @tinycitrusinc for more Watchlist suggestions and reviews, and throw us a tweet with some pics and suggestions of your own.
Credits for the photos appear under each picture. Please drink responsibly.
