5 Perfect Libations for Cold Weather

Winter Sucks out your soul. It's cold, damp, darker than usual, and all around sucky. For those few shitty winter months, we as citizens of Earth, have to combat that dismal melancholy with whatever weapons we can find. I find my weapon of choice to be booze. It's the perfect medicine, to warm my innereds and make me feel a little bit cheerier inside. Of course, each season has its perfect pairing and winter definitely favors certain beverages. 2 great mixed drinks are Hot Toddy and the Butter Rum. Hot toddy's are typically whisky, hot tea, honey and lemon. Butter Rums are typically water, butter, cream, rum and a few spices on top. As those are good drinks, last time I checked I wasn't a bartender. SO let's just grab a bottle and get down to business. Here are my choices:

1. Bourbon. I love bourbon, but bourbon is a cold weather drink. Nothing raises the body's temprature better than a glass of bourbon. So for the winter, I choose bourbon. It pairs well with mosts sodas (cola, lime colas, etc) and will do the job everytime. Bourbon is the perfect libation for those frosty nights. Mixable Concotions: Hot Toddy, bourbon and anything.

2. Brandy. A caramel colored libation that has roots in the wine arena. It's flavor is heavy, but not as heavy as whiskey or bourbon. Brandy is a little sweet, a tad grapey, but the high proof makes it for a good solid winter beverage. Brandy got its start as a reduced wine. Back in the day wine makers would be taxed on how many barrels they transported, so to get around this the winers started removing the water from the wine, making a high octane booze that they would then add the water back to once it had reached its destination. Well after a few trips and a good many drunken times later, the wine makers stopped adding the water back. What ended up as a concentrated wine, became a potent drink called Brandy. Brandy runs about 80 proof most of the time, and is a frugal drinker's love since it is pretty reasonable. Mixable concoctions: Hot Toddy (hot toddy= hot tea, honey, shot of brandy.

3. Red Wine. Some peeps love wine, and red goes best with chilly conditions. I don't think there is a better buzz in the world. Red wine makes me happy. . .until the next day. I don't know what it is, but red wine in whatever shape or form gives me the smileys, but if you over indulge, and I always do, be prepared for a heck of a headache. My prefs are a good solid cabranet or a sirah. Pinot Noirs are a little light so if you are trying to stay warm, pick something up that is breathy and a little heavy. Hell, maybe even a merlot!

4. Ports and Porters. One's a wine, the other is a beer. Port is a super super sweet wine. Usually high in alcohol content, and you probably can only have a glass or two before you want to wipe your tounge off. Ports get their super high sugar and alcohol from the wine makers leaving the grapes on the vine till the raisinify. Sure that is probably not a word, but it should be. Ports can be served hot, which make them extry good for colder climates. Porters are a type of heavy roasted malt beer. They take the grains and malts and everything and roast them. This makes the beers a taste sort of like coffee. They tend to be pretty heavy, but that heavy ness makes for good winter drinking.

5. Grain alcohol. For those of us who'd rather be asleep (aka passed out) than live in the cold, a good ole' glass of 190 will do the job. Why do you think some animals hibernate? Not to survive months without eating... no, they think it's f'n cold, and don't want to deal with it! Their answer is sleeping. You too can be like the bear, and that ticket to complacency is grain alcohol, the booze for those who just don't want to deal with the shit. Becareful though, make sure to dilute. You wouldn't want to die, which is definitely a possibility with grain alcohol.

I hope you've enjoyed this list. If you haven't tried port or brandy, do so. It is a perfect time for those toasty tipsters. If you can think of a good booze for blizzards let me know. Whatever the case, nothing is better for warming up than a buzz.