Keep the chill at bay this season with these delicious drinks.

When it comes to cocktails, the focus tends to be on making them as cold as possible – it’s the mark of an exceptional drink. But once the cooler weather sets in, it’s harder to get excited about an icy-cold cocktail, regardless of how complex, balanced and refreshing it might be.

If you think a mug of tea or hot chocolate is as good as a warm drink can get, allow us to introduce you to some of our favourite winter-perfect cocktails. And yes, Mulled Wine is included here (it’s a cold-weather staple, after all), but we have plenty of other great warm cocktails, too.

Each recipe is ripe for improvising with your own favourite flavours, so we hope you enjoy getting creative with spices and other ingredients. We highly recommend you riff on these eight recipes until you land on the exact mix that you like best.

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1. Mulled Wine cocktail recipe

You could think of Mulled Wine like warm Sangria with a lick of spice, but that doesn’t really do it justice. This drink goes hand-in-hand with all those picture-perfect European Christmas markets, and it’s full of traditional spices. Think star anise, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, all mingling with warmed red wine (go for a rich, fruity style like grenache or shiraz), orange and nutmeg. If that’s not a hug in a mug, we don’t know what is.

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2. Hot Toddy cocktail recipe

This age-old drink is as easy as it is delicious – all you need is your favourite whisky, some lemon juice, honey and boiling water. Stir it round in your go-to mug, and you’re ready to settle in for the night, warm and toasty. Despite the simplicity of this recipe, there are plenty of ways to make it your own. Whether you’re a fan of bourbon or Scotch, peated whiskies or more approachable styles, your Hot Toddy will reflect your choice. And don’t be shy to throw in a few other flavours – a clove or lemon peel at the bottom of the mug will further lift the mix.

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3. Mulled Cider cocktail recipe

Mulled Wine is great and all, but have you tried Mulled Cider? This is a seriously delicious twist on the traditional winter staple that mixes alcoholic cider’s sweet apple flavours with the comforting spiced notes of allspice, cloves, cinnamon and more. It’s an excellent riff that enters into indulgent warm, spiced apple-pie territory, and it proves, yet again, that dessert is often the best inspiration for cocktails.

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4. Hot Buttered Rum cocktail recipe

This isn’t just a cute name for a cocktail – butter is, in fact, a key ingredient. That’s either going to reel you in or put you off, but trust us when we tell you it’s the butter that makes this drink to gloriously rich in the best way. This cocktail dates back to the 1800s, but we have ensured this recipe and its ratios are bang-on for today’s tastes, complete with the addition of apricot brandy for a fruity balance, and a clove-studded orange peel for a garnish that adds its own flavour.

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5. Dan’s Hot Chocolate cocktail recipe

Reckon you’ve got your hot choc down to a fine art at home? It’s time to give this grown-up version a whirl. Melting your chocolate of choice here brings another layer of richness to this cocktail, and while our recipe recommends the addition of cloves and a bay leaf, you could easily switch them out for other options – cardamom, say, or perhaps even a seeded chilli for a subtly spicy twist. With your own customised hot chocolate mixed through a vodka base, this is one of the best DIY winter cocktails we know.

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6. Hot Toddy Slam cocktail recipe

Love a Tim Tam Slam? Us too. That’s why we’ve made it a big part of this cocktail, which takes the Hot Toddy to new heights. Irish whiskey and oloroso sherry combine with honey, lemon juice and tea for a fruity, nutty, warming cocktail. For the ultimate way to enjoy this drink, bite off diagonal corners of a Tim Tam and sip it up through the biscuit for a deliciously chocolatey twist. We think this is the perfect winter nightcap.

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7. Hot Winter Spritz cocktail recipe

Yes, we love the Aperol Spritz, but there comes a point in the depths of winter when it loses some of its appeal. If you’re never sure what to reach for instead of this peak-summer staple, we’re here to help. Enter the Hot Winter Spritz, which gives the Aperol Spritz a winter glow-up. Here, the soda is switched out for cloudy apple juice, and it all gets thrown in a pot with a cinnamon quill until it’s warm. If you miss the extra fizz of a traditional Spritz, you could switch out the juice for apple cider instead.

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8. Baileys White Hot Chocolate cocktail recipe

If you aren’t sure how to make the most of Baileys, you’re going to want to have a play with this recipe. We’ve taken the traditional hot chocolate, swapped it for white chocolate, thrown in a few spices, given it a Baileys Irish Cream base and added a dash of vodka or spiced rum – suit yourself – to create this super-indulgent cocktail. This drink was made for sipping on the couch with a few friends while the rain buckets down outside.