A cozy hot toddy with cranberry and orange

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Welcome to this week’s edition of What to Drink. More cocktail recipes and drink recommendations are available in the archives—as well as in my books, Batch Cocktails and The One-Bottle Cocktail. This newsletter contains some affiliate links, but the best thing you can do to support my work is purchase those books and listen to the latest episode of my cooking podcast, which features Emily Weinstein, editor in chief of New York Times food and cooking.

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The texts come all year, but most frequently in fall. What hot cocktail can I make for Halloween? Help! I’m in charge of drinks for Thanksgiving! What should I make for people to sip while we cook?

There are plenty of good answers. I adore this amaro-spiked hot cider that we published on Epicurious—it has hot buttered rum vibes and lovely spiced flavors from the Averna.

But the latest cookbook from Sonja and Alex Overhiser offers an even simpler hot drink option for anyone who has a bottle of rum around. Their Cranberry Orange Hot Toddy wraps you with juicy berry flavors and soft hints of cinnamon and star anise. It’s pretty far from the traditional hot toddy—which is so simple it’s basically a warmed-up Old Fashioned—but if you like mulled wine, you’ll love this spin.

Photograph © Shelly Westerhausen Worcel

The toddy comes together in a saucepan and is easily doubled or quintupled for a group. (If I were keeping a bigger batch warm on the stove or in a slow cooker for a party, I might dial down the spices a bit, and strain them out after the first 10 minutes or so. You’re not looking for a long, intense infusion, just a kiss of flavor.)

Could you pour this drink into a travel coffee mug to keep you warm while you supervise the candystravaganza this Thursday? That sounds like a smart trick indeed.

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Wine to stock up on

If there ever was a time to buy a case of wine, it’s now—many retailers will offer a discount even on mixed cases, and you’re likely to go through it between fall gatherings, Thanksgiving, and the holidays to follow. You’ll drink better if you plan ahead, rather than grabbing what’s convenient at the last minute.

What would I buy more of if I hadn’t just stuffed my wine fridge beyond full with the most recent Bedrock Wine Co. release? Two Italian reds. I’d be so happy sipping Ferdinando Principiano Barbera d’Alba throughout the season: think blackberry and blood orange, cocoa and cool violet, nothing overblown. Crack open a bottle and invite a crowd over for pizza, or serve alongside turkey and stuffing.

The other that consistently ends up being the most delicious wine of the night: San Fereolo Dogliani DOCG. I keep swearing I’ll save a bottle of this silky-fruited, mint-and-graphite-tinged Dolcetto to drink later, but it keeps being exactly what I want to drink right now.

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Cranberry Orange Hot Toddy

Adapted slightly from A Couple Cooks: 100 Recipes to Cook Together by Sonja Overhiser and Alex Overhiser, © 2024. Published by Chronicle Books.

Note from Maggie: Be sure to use unsweetened 100% cranberry juice here—not a juice that’s mixed with apple or other fruit juices. Still, the tartness of different brands varies, as does the tartness of your oranges; I recommend adjusting sweetness to your personal preference after the batch has simmered.

Makes 2 drinks

2 cinnamon sticks

2 star anise

4 oz. [120 ml] filtered water

3 oz. [90 ml] aged rum

1½ to 2 oz. [60 ml] maple syrup, to taste

2 oz. [60 ml] fresh orange juice

2 oz. [60 ml] 100 percent cranberry juice

2 orange wheels, for garnishing

Fresh or frozen cranberries, for garnishing (optional)

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, toast the cinnamon sticks and star anise until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Turn down the heat to low. Add 4 oz. water, 3 oz. rum, 1½ oz. maple syrup, 2 oz. fresh orange juice, and 2 oz. cranberry juice and keep warm for 3 more minutes. 

2. Carefully taste for sweetness (it’s hot!) and stir in the extra ½ ounce maple syrup if desired.

3. Divide the mixture between two heatproof mugs. Garnish with the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and orange wheels. If desired, add fresh cranberries as an additional garnish.