Winter drinks

Cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and orange peel gently release their flavor into the mulled wine in about half an hour. Boiling doesn't speed this up; it actually makes them bitter, so keep the pan just below the point at which it starts to simmer and let time do the work. Use whole spices instead of ground ones, because ground cinnamon sinks to the bottom and makes the drink cloudy. Remove the spices as soon as the flavor is right; otherwise, they will continue infusing all evening. Add the spirits only at the end, off the heat, so you can still taste what you are pouring in.

Hot drinks in a cold, thin glass can cause the glass to crack, and without a handle, you won't be able to hold such a glass comfortably anyway. Therefore, choose thick or tempered glass, or double-walled glass, preferably with a handle. A handle isn't a luxury here but a practical necessity: at 70 degrees, you can't hold a glass without one. Never place a jug or pan directly from the heat onto a cold glass surface, and fill a glass in two stages if it is very cold. The models with handles can be found among the tea glasses and coffee glasses.

Rinse the glass with hot tap water and pour it out just before serving. This does two things: it relieves tension in the glass, so the hot drink doesn't cause a sudden temperature change, and the drink doesn't immediately cool by a few degrees in a cold glass. For an Irish coffee, this is essential, because a preheated glass keeps the layer of cream neatly on top. The corresponding models can be found among the Irish coffee glasses.

For a group, you don't want to keep reheating the drink. Set the pan to the lowest heat or use a slow cooker on its keep-warm setting; it will automatically stay below boiling point. Allow roughly two 25 cl glasses per person for the first hour, so for eight guests, use a four-litre pan. Keep the spirits separate and add them to each glass, so nothing evaporates and everyone can choose for themselves. Leave a ladle or soup ladle in the pan and place the glasses around it with the handles facing outward.

The simplest winter drink is already in your cupboard. Cut fresh ginger into thin slices and steep it for five to ten minutes in water just below boiling point, with honey and lemon to taste. A cinnamon stick does the same in black tea and adds more than ground cinnamon, which mainly makes it cloudy. A more elaborate version with milk and more spices is the chai latte. Pour it into a glass with a handle, so you can see the colour.

There is always someone who is driving or simply does not feel like drinking alcohol, and they do not need a glass of water. Hot chocolate with a pinch of salt and a piece of dark chocolate stirred in is more serious than it sounds, and this is how you make it. Apple juice infused with cinnamon, cloves and orange peel at mulled-wine temperature tastes exactly like the same season, without alcohol. Pour it into the same glass as everyone else. NIX18: under 18, no alcohol.