This hot winter drink is perfect for enjoying on cozy Christmas nights by the fire. Mulling spices lend warm toasty notes to these spiced apple cider hot Christmas drinks. Complete with finishing splashes of fresh lemon and bourbon, if this special spiced cider drink doesn’t warm your bones, nothing will!
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To deepen the flavors in these hot Christmas drinks, we draw flavor from toasty aromatic spices that combine notes of star anise, cinnamon, and clove. We’ll add fresh sliced orange, cinnamon sticks, pinches of ground ginger, and sliced apple.
Cozy Warming Spices Make Delicious Homemade Spiced Cider
I use a larger pack of loose mulling spices that I scoop into inexpensive little empty tea bags using a tablespoon. Each tea bag has a drawstring attached. To be sure the loose spices don’t leak into the cider, I simply use the attached drawstring to seal the little sack tightly and drop it in.
I like to use World Market’s large pack of mulling spices to fill the little tea bags. This spice pack also comes with enough spices to make more than just this recipe.
You’ll have plenty left over to spice a larger batch of cider or to make holiday spiced wines! Alternatively, you can also use Olde Tradition Spice which comes pre-packaged in little tea bags. Either one will work nicely.
A Warming Holiday Season Hot Christmas Drink To Enjoy on Cold Nights
As the apple cider simmers in the pot, you’ll have a wonderful infusion of smells and flavors that capture all the tastes of the holiday season.
A truly simple and delightful Christmas drink, this hot winter bourbon drink is one of my new favorite Christmas cocktails on the blog. It can be served through the whole of the winter season. Sip it at Christmastime and serve it fireside to guests as a little cup of holiday cheer!
You can easily enjoy it in January and February throughout the winter on a snowy cold night! It’s even versatile enough to enjoy on crisp fall nights, with hints of cozy spice, it’s perfect to sip during apple-picking season. It will be your new favorite hot drink.
This simple hot Christmas drink is perfect for anyone who likes the flavors of mulling spices, spiced wines, spiced cider, and holiday bourbon cocktails. Here, we combine the idea of a festive Christmas bourbon drink with a cozy hot beverage all in one.
To make this comforting warm beverage with the satisfying fruity sweetness of apple cider, you’ll need to gather a few quick ingredients. This easy hot drink is sure to bring the warmth of the holidays to all who enjoy it…
Ingredients to Make Cozy Hot Christmas Drinks with Spiced Cider
- Bourbon
- Apple Cider
- Mulling spices – poured in a tea bag sack and tied tightly with twine
- 8 apple slices – of sliced red apple such as gala or fuji apple
- 2 orange slices – half moon slices
- 2 cinnamon sticks – whole spice
- 1/8 tsp Ground Ginger – dried spice
- 1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice – to brighten flavors at the end
How To Make Easy Hot Spiced Cider Christmas Drinks
- Open a small drawstring tea bag, if using, and sprinkle in a tablespoon of the loose mulling spices. Secure the spices inside the tea bag by gently twisting the baggie at the top to create a little neck.
- Use the attached drawstring to tie securely around the twisted part, ensuring no loose pieces come out of the sack during cooking.
- In a small saucepan, splash in the apple cider and add the tea sack with the mulling spices.
- Add the sliced apple, orange slices, cinnamon sticks and ground ginger to the same saucepan.
- Bring the heat up to medium and cook over medium heat until the apple cider mixture begins to simmer.
- Once simmering, cover with a lid and reduce heat to low.
- Continue simmering, covered, on low heat, for an additional 5 minutes.
- When simmer time is up, remove the cover from the pot and remove saucepan from the heat. Take out the spice sack and cinnamon sticks.
- Stir in the fresh lemon juice and splash in the bourbon, about 1/3 of a cup or so, to taste.
- Gently stir to combine. Serve warm. Be sure to adjust the lemon to taste as needed at the end, if you like it less sweet.
This festive winter-spiced hot cider bourbon cocktail will fill your kitchen with the warm smell of Christmas. When finished simmering and serving, be sure to add a fun garnish of your choice.
Decorate these festive holiday drinks with cinnamon sticks, apple slices, or extra orange slices and enjoy warm. Keep the bourbon handy for this festive apple cider Sleigh Break Christmas drink or this fun green Grinch apple whiskey cocktail!
Simmered Cider Hot Christmas Drink with Bourbon
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Bourbon - or more to taste
- 3 cups Apple Cider
- 1 heaping tbsp Mulling Spices - tied together in a tea sack
- 8 pieces Apple - thin half slices
- 2 slices Orange - small orange wheels slices
- 2 whole Cinnamon Sticks
- ⅛ tsp Ground Ginger - dried spice
- ½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed
Instructions
- Open a small drawstring tea bag, if using, and sprinkle in a tablespoon of the loose mulling spices. Secure the spices inside the tea bag by gently twisting the baggie at the top to create a little neck.
- Use the attached drawstring to tie securely around the twisted part, ensuring no loose pieces come out of the sack during cooking.
- In a small saucepan, splash in the apple cider and add the tea sack with the mulling spices.
- Add the sliced apple, orange slices, cinnamon sticks and ground ginger to the same saucepan.
- Bring the heat up to medium and cook over medium heat until the apple cider mixture begins to simmer. Once simmering, cover with a lid and reduce heat to low.
- Continue simmering, covered, on low heat, for an additional 5 minutes.
- When simmer time is up, remove the cover from the pot and remove saucepan from the heat.Stir in the fresh lemon juice and splash in the bourbon, about 1/3 of a cup or so, to taste.
- Gently stir to combine. Serve warm. Be sure to adjust the lemon to taste as needed at the end, if you like it less sweet.
