hot damn

Not unlike the rest of the country it's currently frigid in College Station, TX, with an arctic blast still on the way. I'm sitting in my office, freezing beyond words (I'll refrain from elaborating), contemplating going home and curling up with a toasty warm aperitif. I've narrowed down the options to one (maybe two!) of the following (from Cocktalia.com and FoodNetwork.com):

Hot Toddy

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon whiskey
• Lemon wedge

Combine the cinnamon stick and honey in a heat-proof snifter. Top with the boiling water and stir to melt the honey. Add bourbon. Squeeze in the lemon wedge and drop it into the snifter.

Irish Coffee

• 1 raw sugar cube
• 1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey
• 4 ounces coffee
• Fresh, unsweetened whipped cream

Pour the whiskey over the sugar in a stemmed Irish coffee glass and top with coffee. Ladle one inch of cream on top. Use 1 teaspoon of raw sugar if you don’t have cubes.

Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps

• 1 oz peppermint schnapps
• 5 oz. hot chocolate
  

Pour the peppermint schnapps into an Irish coffee cup/mug, add the hot chocolate, and stir. Top with whipped cream, garnish with some peppermint candy, and serve

And my personal favorite ...single malt scotch, Aberlour a'bunadh

Then again, a glass of wine wouldn't be too bad either.

Stay warm.

**UPDATE**: I did/am doing the Hot Toddy (and the wine). Perfection. And very toasty.