Hot chocolate was invented to be mixed with spirits, particularly if it's a dark chocolate or double chocolate concoction.
When a spiked hot chocolate is made properly, it's what you want a mudslide to be -- sweet, filling and the right balance of dessert and drink. Hot chocolate also masks the bite of cheaper alcohol, so well-drink brands (I'm looking at you Popov) will work just as well as Ketel One. Hot chocolate is also a portable cocktail. You can fill a thermos with
cocoa and bring along a flask (or several) of whatever you want to mix
in.
If you've got what most homes have -- packages of hot chocolate -- here's a guide to hot chocolate 11 ways. It details how you can use everything from vanilla to mint to flavor both alcoholic and standard cocoas. Peppermint Schnapps, coffee liqueur or flavored vodka (vanilla) all work well.
If you're looking for more cocoa than chocolate taste, you should try a mocha hot chocolate -- a combination of espresso, cocoa powder and Bailey's. And for the daring, I offer this recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate -- while the typically unsweetened cocoa drink flavored with cinnamon is delicious, I'm not sold on the tequila that's meant to be added.
The next party you have this winter, consider making a large bowl of hot chocolate -- call it a dessert punch. You could also serve the hot chocolate in a carafe and make a drink station with instructions for creating the cocktail of the evening. Buy fancy hot chocolate -- think drinking chocolate from Andre's or Christopher Elbow -- and perfectly generic liquor.
And finally, you could always make an inside-out version of the drink by serving chilled shots in a chocolate shot glass. Here, a small amount of fruit liqueur -- a liquid version of a cordial candy -- or vodka would work.
[Image via Flickr: dan taylor]
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