Hot DrinkS
Have entered the chat THE HOT TODDY HAS HAD ITS MOMENT. THIS WINTER, MAKE SOME ROOM FOR A FEW NEW FAVOURITES. BY MYLES O'REILLY
H umanity has likely been spiking the cookbook attributed to Apicius, and medieval England drank wassail, a hot mulled ale whose very name wishes you good health. Every era since has independently come to the same conclusion: winter tastes better when warm, sweetened and slightly fortified. The hot toddy gets all the press (even in Savour Manitoba ) and has earned it. But it is one drink in a long line of traditions, and Manitoba's cold spells run so much longer than one recipe can handle. Fortunately, this province holds a particular trump card in the warming-drinks game: Crown Royal, created in 1939 for the royal tour of King George VI, is blended in Gimli on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. hot drinks for as long as it has been cold. The Romans left us spiced wine ( conditum paradoxum ) recorded in Start close to home with a classic hot toddy made with Gimli's finest, where whiskey, sug- ar and cloves meet boiling water. In the drink's simplest form, there is no fancy garnish required and no Instagram photo needed. Manitoba Liquor Mart, the provincial custodian of good drinking judgment, offers its own video-guided version with honey, lemon and a cinnamon stick, proving that the province takes this matter seriously at an institutional level. Once you've had the obligatory toddy, you can begin to broaden your horizons. Irish coffee is a hot drink that solves a real problem: how to keep your coffee hot. Float cold cream on top, insulating it like
a lid, while drinking it cold-lipped through the cream with extra warmth coming from the finest Irish whiskey. Reputedly invented at Foynes air base for its chilly transatlantic passengers, it remains the most elegant trick in warm winter drinking. Hot buttered rum sounds like a dare but drinks like a dessert. Butter, brown sugar, nutmeg and rum are built into a slow-cooker batter that turns any gathering into an event. The modern twist is to keep it local: substitute a Manitoba craft spirit, a bottle of Tall Grass vodka or Prairie Gold whiskey from Winnipeg's Capital K Distillery (a Savour Manitoba staple ingredient). Prairie grain, in liq- uid form, warmed and returned to the Prairies. Mulled wine carries a deep history. The Romans' spiced legacy carried north, where it became “glüh- wein” and “glögg.” The Italian take, vin brûlé, is the most weeknight-friendly: red wine, citrus, star anise and thyme. A German escalation, feuerzangen- bowle, involves a sugar cone set dramatically aflame above the pot; ambition is optional but encouraged. Definitely Instagram-worthy. For the designated drivers, the teetotallers and the simply sensible among us, the non-alcoholic lane should never be a compromise. Mulled maple cider (apple cider warmed with Canadian maple syrup, cinnamon and cloves) is the drink that sacrifices nothing: the maple carries the depth, the spices carry the warmth, and the steam carries everything else. The hearth is the home's heat-delivery system and the kettle is its underrated sibling. This winter, let it do more than raise the temperature of a tea.
46 | FALL 2026 | SAVOUR MANITOBA
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