Hot Cocktails
20 drinks · Updated October 2026
Hot cocktails use heated water, coffee, wine or other ingredients instead of relying on ice for dilution and temperature. The Hot Toddy commonly combines a spirit with hot water, sweetener and optional citrus or spice. Hot Buttered Rum adds butter and sugar to rum and hot water, often with spices. Irish Coffee combines Irish whiskey, hot coffee and sugar beneath a layer of cream. These drinks do not share one historical origin or base spirit. Their defining link is warm service, with heat supplied by the mixer rather than by boiling the alcohol.
Benny & Hot
Traditional (11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, after the First World War; served at the Burnley Miners' Club)
1.25 oz Bénédictine 2.75 oz Boiling water
Hot Buttered Rum
Classic (colonial America)
2 bsp Honey 1 knob Unsalted butter 2 oz Aged rum 2 pinches Grated nutmeg Top Boiling water
Hot Toddy
Classic (England, 1700s)
1.5 oz Blended Scotch 0.25 oz Lemon juice 0.25 oz Honey syrup (3:1) 1 tsp Rich simple syrup 3 Cloves 2 oz Boiling water
Irish Coffee
Joe Sheridan, Foynes, Ireland (1940s)
4 oz Hot coffee 1.75 oz Irish whiskey 1 tsp Sugar 1.75 oz Heavy cream (chilled, lightly whipped)
Jean Gabin
Charles Schumann, Munich (1986, printed in his American Bar)
0.75 oz Black rum 2 tsp Calvados 1 tsp Maple syrup 2.5 oz Whole milk, steamed
Negus
Classic (named for Colonel Francis Negus, early 1700s)
1.75 oz Ruby port 2 tsp Lemon juice 0.25 oz Rich simple syrup 3.5 oz Boiling water
Hot Aperol
Jessica King, Brother Wolf, Knoxville (2022)
2 oz Aperol 2 oz Chinotto soda 1 oz Single malt Scotch 1 oz Orange juice 0.5 packet Tangerine vitamin C powder
Khali's Coffee Grog
Ray Sakover, Paradise Lost, New York (2023)
6 oz Cold brew coffee 1.5 oz Gardenia mix, warmed 1.5 oz Jasmine coconut cream 1 oz Overproof demerara rum 0.75 oz Overproof Jamaican rum 1 Orange twist 1 Lemon twist
Quattro Teste's Bombardino
Quattro Teste, Lisbon (2023)
1.5 oz Blended Scotch 4.25 oz Egg liqueur 1 oz Salted cream
Hotto Campari
Julia Momosé, Chicago (2023)
1 oz Campari 0.75 oz Sudachi shochu 0.5 oz Honey syrup (2:1) 0.25 oz Lemon juice 1 barspoon Kümmel 3 to 4 oz Hot water
Sorel Toddy
Cure, New Orleans (2025)
2 oz Hibiscus liqueur 0.5 oz Aged rum 0.25 oz Demerara syrup (1:1) 0.25 oz Lime juice Hot water, to top
Coffee Grog
Don the Beachcomber, from Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's Sippin' Safari
1 Sugar cube 1 tsp Coffee grog batter 1 pinch each Ground nutmeg, clove and cinnamon 3 strips Orange peel 1 strip Grapefruit peel 6 oz Hot brewed coffee 0.5 oz Aged Jamaican rum 0.5 oz 151-proof demerara rum
Hot Whiskey Punch
Jack McGarry, The Dead Rabbit, New York (2020)
1 oz Irish whiskey 1 dash Angostura bitters Top Hot whiskey punch base
Spanish Coffee
Huber's Café, Portland, Oregon
0.75 oz Overproof rum (151 proof) 0.25 oz Orange liqueur 1.5 oz Coffee liqueur 3 oz Hot brewed coffee Lemon wedge and superfine sugar (rim)
Gun Club Toddy
Alex Day, Cocktail Codex
1.5 oz Chamomile calvados 1 oz Pineau des Charentes 0.5 oz Honey syrup (2:1) 0.25 oz Lemon juice 4 oz Boiling water
Serenity Now
Michele Phu, Death & Co, Los Angeles (2024)
1.25 oz Japanese whisky 0.5 oz Amontillado sherry 0.25 oz Islay Scotch 0.75 oz Oolong tea syrup 4 oz Boiling water
Silver Bay
Bobby Hiddleston, Swift, London (2022)
1.25 oz Single malt Scotch (island) 1 tsp Lemon juice 2 tsp Chestnut liqueur 2 tsp Honey syrup (3:1) 1 dash Angostura bitters 3 oz Boiling water
Pumpkin Toddy
Jane Danger, PDT, New York (2008, printed in The PDT Cocktail Book, 2011)
0.5 oz Applejack 0.25 oz Rye whiskey 0.25 oz Lemon juice 0.25 oz Pumpkin spice syrup 0.25 oz Maple syrup 1 dash Angostura bitters 2.75 oz Boiling water
J & Tony's Hot Negroni
Ewan Bennie, J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse, San Diego (2021)
0.5 oz Gin 0.5 oz Campari 0.5 oz Sweet vermouth 1 tsp Lemon juice 1 tsp Rich simple syrup 2.75 oz Boiling water
Blue Blazer
Jerry Thomas, San Francisco (gold rush era)
4 oz Blended Scotch 4 oz Boiling water 1 bsp Sugar