Warming Up To Classics
Classic American hot drinks are back-not just at ski resorts but in big cities, where history-loving bartenders are studying and restyling old recipes for 21st-century winters.
THE DRINK
Calvados cider
Popular in early America, where apples were ubiquitous (pictured above)
HOME RECIPE
Heat cider with cinnamon sticks. Let stand. Strain. Add 2 oz. Calvados or applejack. Heat and serve.
WHO'S MAKING IT NOW
Garden Terrace Lounge at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C.--garnished with a cinnamon stick
THE DRINK
Hot buttered rum
Once popular in colonial Virginia and among sailors of the Caribbean
HOME RECIPE
Mix 1 tsp cinnamon-laced butter, 1 1/2 oz. dark rum, a bit of brown sugar. Stir in boiling water.
WHO'S MAKING IT NOW
Trader Todd's of Chicago. Their version includes pineapple juice.
THE DRINK
Tom & Jerry Named for either its alleged creator, 1860s barman Jerry Thomas, or an 1821 book
HOME RECIPE
It involves eggs, sugar, cinnamon, steamed milk, rum, and cognac (details at usnews.com/tom).
WHO'S MAKING IT NOW
Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle in New York City
THE DRINK
Mulled wine
It dates to Europe in the Middle Ages; popular at New England taverns in the 1830s
HOME RECIPE
Boil 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar with prunes, mulling spices. Add 1/2 bottle red wine, 1/2 cup brandy. Heat.
WHO'S MAKING IT NOW
Easley Winery adds citrus juice when making the drink for Indianapolis eateries. -Margaret Menge
This story appears in the February 9, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.