How to winterize your favorite summer drinks

Mojitos, daiquiris, and margaritas conjure up tropical shores and a balmy climate. You might feel like these drinks are for the summer only, but PUNCH magazine says we should reconsider that position. They’ve provided suggestions for “winterizing” these cocktails and more so you can enjoy them even when the weather gets cold.

One tip for adjusting cocktails for a new season is that “the most forgiving to work with are long, tall and bubbly drinks.” Among PUNCH’s favorites is the spritz, where they play with the template of bitter, bubbly and low-alcohol, swapping out seasonal juices like blood orange and mixing up the bitter flavors by using Campari’s “more rounded cousin”, Cappelletti.

The margarita is also easily modified to become a fine winter drink. Blood orange juice is again a great substitution, and they further “pump up the volume with mezcal in place of tequila and add a dose of rosemary-infused Cointreau,” creating their version of a Blood orange margarita.

Speaking of infusing, syrups “infused with seasonal herbs, spices and fruits can dramatically change the flavor profile of a cocktail,” says the magazine. This makes drinks with more well-defined boundaries, like the daiquiri, excellent candidates for winter conversions. Spices like cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom can make a the drink feel right at home in colder weather, like one of these spiced daiquiris from the EYB Library.

Photo of Blood orange margarita with ginger from Food & Wine