I knew I wanted to create a hot drink as part of this month’s programming, something incredibly cozy and comforting. I prefer hot toddies that aren’t citrus-heavy and that read like Cocktails. For some reason, I got it into my head that brown sugar and dates would be the perfect pairing with whiskey, amaro, and woodsy Kukicha tea. Happily, I was right.

This aperitivo cocktail is a hybrid of a Negroni Sbagliato (bitter liqueur, sweet vermouth, prosecco) and a spritz (bitter liqueur, prosecco, soda). Fortified with a small measure of aged gin and winterized with a dose of citrus, it’ll have you embracing January’s chill with flavors of pine, citrus, and apple.

This is the “root cocktail” for this month’s programming, i.e. the drink that determined the core of our supply list. I came up with the original Tyrolean Negroni at Gigantic a couple years ago: super piney gin, Carpano Antica and a split measure of Braulio and Sfumato. This updated version comes together beautifully and does a great job of showcasing the blanc vermouth.

Sours are a perennial favorite, but there’s something extra special about them during the winter. This version of an amaro sour gives the drinker a choice between alternating sips of the sour and a shot of amaro, or pouring the amaro on top and drinking the two elements together. I channeled Emily Dickinson for the title.

This drink was created at the Waldorf in honor of an 1894 operetta about a Scottish folk hero. A few years ago, I ordered a Rob Roy from my friend Alex Caffall at Fort Defiance; she said she always made hers “perfect,” i.e. splitting the vermouth between sweet and dry. I’ve preferred them that way ever since.

Mayme Taylor was a famous comedic musical actress in the late nineteenth century. The “Mamie Taylor” cocktail was named for her and was accompanied by a likely apocryphal story about its origins during an 1899 trip she took to Lake Ontario. Regardless, the bones of the drink – Scotch, lime and ginger beer – are great, so here’s our much-more-complex version.

Theater people will know about the superstition around saying the title of a certain Shakespearian tragedy set in Scotland. Scotch gets along very well with honey, ginger and floral flavors. Add a touch of smokiness and this hot toddy riff really shines.

In my research on drinks with links to the theater, I found the “Up in Mabel’s Room” cocktail named for the play (and silent film, and later, talkie) of the same name. A 1919 production staged at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre starred Hazel Dawn in the title role. She had left her Mormon family in Utah for the bright lights of Broadway when she was young.

Keeping the equal parts structure of a classic Negroni, this version reduces the pour per ingredient and adds a fourth spirit. The addition of French brandy provides a counterpoint to the gin, which amplifies its pine notes, which are further bolstered by the rosemary-infused Campari.

Combining the traditions of espresso con panna ("with cream") and caffé corretto, this after-dinner drink offers both a digestif effect from the French brandy while also acting as a dessert.

This unusual drink is essentially a reverse Martini that swaps dry vermouth for Riesling, and is then poured over a frozen dome (or cube) of citrus-Campari granita. I named it for a well-turned-out waiter who I envision skiing up to perform a tableside service of the drink for your Alpine après-ski.

The Americano began as a fizzy version of the elemental Milano-Torino, which mixes Campari (from Milan) with sweet vermouth (from Torino, or Turin). It got its name from the American tourists and expats who took to it with enthusiasm, especially during Prohibition.

I came up with this cocktail for a peaty Scotch lover who… didn’t want Scotch that night. I settled on a Negroni build and used super piney gin (St. George Terroir). Vanilla-heavy Carpano Antica in the vermouth spot. And I switched out the Campari in favor of two great amari from the Italian alps: Braulio, a coniferous beauty (and my all-time favorite) from Bormio, near the Swiss border, and Sfumato Rabarbaro, a product from Trento’s Cappelletti distillery, a rhubarb-based bitter with a smoky edge. (That was in response to the peaty Scotch note.) Think of this as the classic, urbane Negroni hitting the slopes!

This dessert cocktail was one I developed during the winter of 2019-20. I wanted to give the classic Alexander template, which emerged in the years before Prohibition, a banana-nut profile. Dry and spicy rye was the perfect accompaniment for this combination of liqueurs.

I came up with this one when a customer at Gigantic requested something for their last drink of the night and alluded to a craving for coffee. I thought I’d combine three of my favorite after-dinner drinks, Cognac, coffee and amaro, in a Manhattan-inspired format. The basic idea comes from early versions of the Manhattan from the late nineteenth century. But it also has commonalities with the Hanky Panky or the Fanciuli, wherein a Manhattan skips the bitters in favor of amaro.

The Jack Rose, traditionally made with apple brandy, is a great cocktail at any time of the year. This version, with Scotch, is yet more appropriate for winter. It’s Jack in a tuxedo and fur coat!

I came up with this drink while I was in Holland in October 2019. I spent a week there learning the history of genever and the current state of the industry for a story I was writing for Saveur.