Unique drinks to warm up the coldest of days: Andrew Coppolino

With cooler weather settling in, the prospects of finding a unique warming beverage are getting better, whether that's a classic hot toddy, punch or a special coffee.

Drinks both with and without alcohol are a tonic against the chilly air.

Many restaurants create one-off seasonal drinks inspired by the cold and the pending holiday season. Janet Lynn's Bistro riffs on a classic cocktail bywarming maple and chocolate to make an Old Fashioned.

At Proof Kitchen and Lounge, buttered rum is the foundation for Frangelico and a cinnamon stick. The drink (created by beverage manager Krista MacVicar) is made table-side in steak house-style, according to manager Laura Umbrio.

"The brown butter is re-heated and mixed with Demerara sugar to add a hint of sweet. We form little hexagon brown-butter rum melts. The drink is served in a brandy snifter over an open flame," Umbrio says.

The toddy has a folkloric and mythic quality as a tonic (of course that's medically unlikely if alcohol a depressantis involved). But the supposed health benefits of ingredients such as ginger and turmeric lag well behind the deliciousness they addto Red House Uptown's Ginger-Turmeric Toddy.

"It's a fun spin on a traditional toddy made with our own ginger-turmeric liqueur with an added bit of sweetness from some local honey. It gets a bit of lemon juice, an extra touch of honey and gets topped with hot water and a garnish of dehydrated lemon," says sommelier and bar manager Ainsley Svitak.

No- or low-alcohol versions

Several blocks away in uptown Waterloo, White Rabbit has created their Hotter Todder a whisky-based beverage with a fig and red-wine reduction, honey, black tea and autumn spices, according to Jared Gerring at White Rabbit.

Many restaurants, like Proof, have a good lineup of non- (or very low) alcohol cocktails, including the "Joanie and Chai-Tea" made with Chai syrup, bitters, cream and Luxardo cherry.

In downtown Kitchener, bar manager Sarah McCabe at B at TheMuseum describes Wellesley apple cider used in two cocktails. The "Apple-y Ever After" is a Wellesley apple cider punch with rum and Schnapps and a cinnamon stick; the other is the liquor-free version.

"Our non-alcohol version is Wellesley apple cider with cinnamon and a cinnamon stick," McCabe says. "You can have it cold or we can heat it up for you. These drinks warm you up when there's a little bit of a chill outside."

Across the street from B, Good Vibes has started offering hot beverages for cold days. That includes the unique ingredients you will find in their almond milk "steamers:" turmeric-ginger, and hot chocolate with chaga (a mushroom with purported medicinal properties) and maca (a Peruvian root vegetable), among a few others.

Coffee's on

For coffee and tea beverages, many African and Middle Eastern restaurants can provide interesting variations on two of the world's most popular drinks.

Check out Naranj Mediterranean Restaurant on the Boardwalk for Moroccan green tea. Or take in a Jordanian-style coffee ceremony at Nanaz Kitchen in north Waterloo; here, the tableside theatrics of the steak house special coffee creation give way to a Middle Eastern show, according to Easra Aburaneh, whose mother is the cook and owner.

"We have old-style heated sand boxes which we make the coffee on. With the demonstration, you get to experience how people of the Mediterranean would have cooked. This is still present in parts of Jordan today," he says.

Aside from the rich Turkish-style coffee, their rose tea is quite interesting.

"It's a delectable rose tea composed of dried rose buds brewed in hot water with a sugar crystal stick infused with cardamom," Aburaneh says. "When served you are supposed to slowly stir the sugar stick in the water to give a very unique taste. Of course, the more you stir the sweeter the drink."

Tea time

Now specifically with the holiday season in mind, in the heart of Waterloo's city centre, DavidsTea can offer about 160 different tea flavours, but as the holidays approach, the profiles change to warm, seasonal themes.

Take, for instance, Santa's Secret or Sleigh Ride, the latter a 12-ingredient tea which includes cinnamon, apple, almond, pineapple and popped rice (think extra crispy Rice Krispies cereal). You can sample some of the teas when Davids participates in the tree-lighting ceremony in Waterloo Public Square on December 6.

As well, Seven Shores in Waterloo will start to serve a selection of fall-flavoured drinks beginning on November 25. That includes peppermint lattes and mochas, gingerbread coffee flavours and the classic hot chocolate with candy cane. The difference might be the home-made ingredients.

"We make our own syrups and infusions in-house," says Seven Shores manager Eileen Werner. "They're natural, less processed and help make the drinks very popular."

Of course, at this time of the season there is egg nog to consider at venues like Seven Shores. That beverage, however, opens an entirely different heated conversation.

• More columns from food columnist Andrew Coppolino