Seasonal cocktails you should try

As the days get shorter and the evenings get chillier, you might grab that cold one only to find yourself wanting something to warm you up inside. This is the time of year when people turn to mulled wines, spiced and buttered rums, hot toddies, and other comforting adult beverages. But you don't need to resort to a bunch of second-hand recipes found on the Internet. Take a look at María del Mar Scasa and Tara Striano's Winter Cocktails, released last fall, which features more than 100 seasonal cocktail recipes, from simple quickies like Irish coffee to guest-quality punches like pumpkin-bourbon eggnog. The book also gives the lowdown on the tools and tricks of the toddy, from muddlers to molds. Don't need to get so in-depth? Try Hot Toddies by Christopher O'Hara and William A. Nash. It's a slimmer volume with all sorts of fail-safe recipes for sweetening, spicing, and spiking drinks to ensure those rosy cheeks around the winter table.