ajc.com 2008 Holiday Guide

"Daddy, why are you microwaving ice cream?"

I glance over to find my youngest child and her two sisters staring at me with apparent concern. They've seen some mad scientist moments in the kitchen as I've tested recipes for this column. Now they're looking like they'd rather I just find a new career.

Elissa Eubanks/Staff (ENLARGE)

Instead of your usual cocktail, try (from left): Rye Toddy (or use scotch), Arabian Night, Black Dragon, Sleep Tight and Frankfurt Froth.

Elissa Eubanks/Staff (ENLARGE)

Greg Best of Restaurant Eugene prepares a Frankfurt Froth. You can make a version at home with Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream.

• Some mail-order snacks to go with your hot drinks • Get warm with these recipes JOHN KESSLER ON FOOD AND MORE E-mail Kessler Related: • More on food and drink • Restaurant reviews and search More Kessler Start with basics at three Buford Highway eateries  Salted cod gives kids whiff of new world (and they like it)  Colorful pumpkins have multiple uses  An iffy food approach: There's a joke in here somewhere  In the end, a bit too much wing think going on  Nibble by nibble, great meal at fancy restaurant redefined  A little midcentury classic we'd hate to be without  Grandfather's old-world life remains a mystery  HOLIDAY GUIDE How not to be the jerk of the party  Northside's top stories in 2007  New Year's resolutions shrinking  A how-to for the perfect thank-you

I am, in fact, following instructions from my favorite Atlanta bartender, Greg Best at Restaurant Eugene, for a simplified home version of his Frankfurt Froth cocktail. At the restaurant, Best uses handmade custard sauce that he warms and whisks. He promised I would get a similar result with melted vanilla ice cream, provided I use Haagen-Dazs.

The hot cream whips to a gorgeous froth and finds a soul mate (sorry, kids) in the bottle of Jack Daniel's I had secreted away. Not just any Jack, but one that has been infused with a cinnamon stick, three cloves and a pinch of Sichuan peppercorns for the past two weeks.

What a fantastic take on eggnog! Here's a drink that whispers the warming spice of the season but doesn't shout it like a scented candle. Or a bowl of potpourri. Or one of those creepy stores where a woman with candy cane earrings sells Christmas paraphernalia year-round.

Here is a seasonal hot cocktail of refinement and character — just what I've been searching for. Lately I've been thinking how nice it would be to invite guests over for a seat by the fire and a beverage that is both hand-warming and potent. Surely there are more such drinks to be had for the looking, if not the inventing.

But, first, I have two questions about the state of hot cocktails:

• Whatever happened to them? You used to see toddies, Irish coffees and the like announce their presence with discreet cardboard tents placed on bars come the first cold snap.

• Are there any exciting new ones out there? Now that creative bartenders (sorry, "bar chefs") are trading in their sour mix and blue raspberry schnapps for chamomile infusions and pomegranate juice, are they inventing exciting, fresh hot cocktails along with the cold ones?

These are questions for David Wondrich, the drinks columnist for Esquire magazine, who just wrote a book with a very long name.

In "Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to 'Professor' Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar" ($23.95, Perigee Trade), Wondrich examines the life of the 19th century's most renowned bartender and finds in his story a long, rich and now ignored history of hot cocktails.

"They used to be a much larger part of the world of mixed drinks," says Wondrich, "but now it's a sideline — almost a subset of cider, and I'm so sick of cider."

You and me both, brother.

So what hot drinks are the cool cocktail kids into these days?

"There's not much," Wondrich sighs. "A few of the boutiquey cocktail bars are starting to bring back the Tom and Jerry."

This drink, in fact, was the signature libation of Wondrich's favorite subject, Jerry Thomas, who helped make it a nationwide sensation during the post-Civil War era. A distant member of the eggnog family (and still popular in the upper Midwest), it begins with a batter made from whipped egg white, whipped egg yolk, spices, sugar and rum. You ladle it into special cups that Wondrich calls "these porcelain shaving mug thingies" and douse it with hot milk or water.

"Then you ladle out plenty of excellent rum and brandy, and boy howdy!" enthuses Wondrich.

Other than the few hipster bars that have rediscovered the Tom and Jerry, Wondrich finds little to like in today's popular hot cocktails. "Most are still very heavy with the spices and the perfume," he laments.

Ah, yes, the perfume. Know it well. That Eau de Pumpkin Pie that Christmas Store Lady dabs behind her ears before greeting guests.

"People have lost the technique for hot drinks," says Wondrich, adding that few bars today have access to the equipment needed to create them.

This may explain why the clever ones enlist the espresso machine.

Lara Creasy, who keeps as cool as the cucumber in a Pimm's Cup behind the bar at Shaun's in Inman Park, always has one frothy, warm, fantastically boozy milk drink on the menu. Until recently it was the Imperial Cup, which, in fact, used Pimm's along with Bombay Chai tea, milk, honey and nutmeg.

The Imperial is a fine drink, but the one she calls Sleep Tight qualifies as simple perfection. Steamed milk, honey and a healthy shot of cognac: That's it. You'll sleep like a baby, or perhaps a skid row drunkard, after this one. It goes down like a calming coat of whitewash for the overactive mind — nursery pabulum for adults.

But as much as I like all these drinks, I want to plead lactose intolerance after a while. Creamy milk drinks are sometimes good the way mashed potatoes from KFC are sometimes good, but I'm looking for something that is both warming and invigorating. Is that possible, or is that just asking for a steamy mugful of contradiction?

Clearly it's time for a visit to Greg Best.

I like stopping by the corner bar at Eugene early in the evening when the thought of a cocktail still feels illicit and Best has time to fuss with his esoteric liquors, tinctures and infusions. He cuts a distinctive, bartenderish figure: close-cropped hair framing a shiny forehead, a vest over long shirtsleeves and various silver rings on his fingers and thumbs. You can't figure out whether in his other life he sings in a barbershop quartet or plays bass in a hard-core emo band.

Best assembles a Black Dragon, a drink that begins with a shot of blackstrap rum that he has infused with star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel. He stirs in a shot of Italian bitter liqueur called Amaro Mio that is served as a digestif. He finishes the cocktail with hot black tea, crushed orange slices and just enough honey to keep this startling, bitter concoction from tasting like an experimental drug.

I like it. The more I sip at it, the more it perks up my brainpan with alcohol, caffeine and a swirl of personalities that seem to be looking for something nice to say. Before long, I have my own, simplified version of the Black Dragon made with infused Myers's rum, tea, a splash of Tropicana orange juice and a drop or three of Angostura bitters. Invigorating!

We're getting close, and I have a theory why. The tannins in the tea grate so pleasantly against the alcohol. When this happens, you have a canvas for all the flavors — spicy, citrusy, flowery — to play out. This explains why mulled red wine, filled with tannins, tastes to me like the soul of Christmas while mulled cider tastes like Renuzit.

It also brings to the table the most famous and tannic of all hot cocktails, the one that begat its own signature glass mug — the Irish coffee.

"As long as it's made properly, Irish coffee can be an excellent drink," says Esquire's Wondrich. He advises starting with a top-shelf Irish whiskey such as Redbreast, barely sweetening it with brown sugar, adding no more than 4 ounces of hot black coffee and floating a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream on top. When the drink's prepared this way — with restraint — you taste the character of the liquor.

So, is this it? Does my search for the best hot cocktail lead me to the obvious, to Irish coffee?

"Well, for me the greatest hot drink of all is the Scotch Toddy," says Wondrich, adding, "This is a traditional drink, by the way. It's something you still see all over Scotland."

A proper Scotch Toddy starts with a good single-malt scotch, as peaty as you like. Add a splash of hot water, some raw suger and a strip of lemon peel, then dilute with more hot water as you and your liver see fit.

"It's a great cold cure," adds Wondrich.

Cold cure, nothing. I'm having guests over. I'm lighting a fire. I'm buying some chocolates in fancy wrappers. I think this is the beginning of a new tradition.

THE BASICS, AND WHAT TO HAVE ON HAND

A hot cocktail may be as simple as your favorite spirit extended with a splash of water from the tea kettle. That said, there are a few simple procedures and tips to keep in mind:

• Heat the mug or glass first. Fill it with hot water and empty the water just before assembling the cocktail.

• Don't heat the spirit directly. Its alcohol will volatilize readily and its flavor will change.

• Let the fumes blow off. Even a splash of hot water will cause the alcohol to release a cloud of potent fumes. You may wish to wait a few seconds before bringing it under your nose.

• Use brown liquors. Dark rum, bourbon, scotch, brandy — all good. Hot vodka? Not so much.

• Find mixers that are tannic. The compounds known as tannins create a drying, gripping feeling on your palate and add depth to a hot beverage. Tea, coffee, red wine and pomegranate juice are all highly tannic.

• Prepare honey water. Equal measures of honey and water, heated until blended and then cooled, will stay pourable at room temperature and dissolve readily in a cocktail. Agave nectar also works well.