Four Seasons Book of Cocktails

Damiana flower gives the liqueur Agavero its lovely vanilla scent.

4 ounces hot coffee, sweetened to taste

2 ounces Agavero

2 ounces light cream

Pour coffee into Irish coffee glass, add liqueur and cream, and stir.

Dessert by the hearth?

3 ounces cherry brandy

3 ounces heavy cream

2 ounces cherry puree

Cinnamon for sprinkling

Heat liquid ingredients but do not boil. Pour into steamed snifter and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Rich and spicy

4 ounces hot black tea, sweetened to taste

1 ounce Mount Gay rum

1 ounce heavy cream

Nutmeg for sprinkling

Pour tea into cup and add rum and cream. Stir and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Flavored with rum and orange liqueur.

6 ounces hot coffee

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce triple sec

Pour coffee into mug, add rum and triple sec, and stir.

With the Italian digestive Fernet-Branca

4 ounces hot coffee, sweetened to taste

1 ounce Fernet-Branca

Whipped cream for topping

Pour coffee into tulip glass and add Fernet-Branca. Stir and top with whipped cream.

Time to open the Kahlúa bottle

4 ounces hot coffee, sweetened to taste

2 ounces Kahlúa

Whipped cream for topping

Cinnamon for sprinkling

Pour coffee into Irish coffee glass and add liqueur. Stir, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Rhapsody in a snifter. The coffee can be sweetened or unsweetened.

4 ounces hot coffee

2 ounces brandy

2 ounces heavy cream

Pour coffee into snifter, add brandy and cream, and stir.

Not suitable for breakfast!

6 ounces hard apple cider

2 ounces cinnamon schnapps

Cinnamon stick for garnish

Heat cider and pour into mug. Add schnapps, stir, and garnish.

Black currant takes the spotlight. This fruit is acidic, so substituting whole milk or cream for the skim milk will leave you with a slightly curdled drink.

4 ounces hot black currant tea, unsweetened

2 ounces skim milk (creamy style)

1 ounce crème de cassis, plus extra for drizzling

Whipped cream for topping

Pour tea into Irish coffee glass and add milk and liqueur. Stir, top with whipped cream, and drizzle with more liqueur.

Bartender Charles’s teapot diaphoretic (sweat inducer) will perk you up when you have a cold. You’ll need a 3-cup teapot, a saucer, and a handheld strainer.

1 cup grated ginger

2 lemons, quartered

1 ounce Barcardi 151

3 teaspoons honey, divided

Boiling water

1 teaspoon honey to coat rim of glass

Spoon grated ginger into teapot. Squeeze quartered lemons over pot and drop in rinds. Add rum and 2 teaspoons honey. Fill teapot with just-boiled water, cover, and let steep for 2 to 3 minutes. Spread 1 teaspoon honey on a saucer; coat rim of a glass by pressing it into honey. Strain mixture in teapot into glass and garnish. Makes 1 cup.

Adrift on a Frangelico cloud

6 ounces hot coffee, sweetened to taste

2 ounces Frangelico

Whipped cream for topping

Chopped hazelnuts for garnish

Pour coffee into Irish coffee glass and add liqueur. Stir, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Almost as good as mom’s

2 ounces boiling water

2 ounces light rum

2 ounces calvados, plus extra for drizzling

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Whipped cream for topping

Pour boiling water into Irish coffee glass and add rum, calvados, and cinnamon. Stir, top with whipped cream, and drizzle cream with calvados.

Beloved by Southerners of a certain age

2½ ounces Wild Turkey bourbon

3 ounces apple cider

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Nutmeg for garnish

Combine bourbon, cider, and cinnamon stick in small saucepan. Heat to a simmer, add butter, and stir until butter is melted. Discard cinnamon stick, pour bourbon mixture into steamed glass, and sprinkle with nutmeg.