Winter is right upon us and, with it, its color palette of light blue, white, and grey, darker days, melancholic afternoons, and a special kind of mood that makes you want to nest in at home, whether it is on your own or in the company of great friends.
Here are a few things to watch and listen to this winter and handpicked winter cocktails with recipes for you to try with each of them. As John Steinbeck once wrote, "What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness".
Before we start, a bit of a fair warning: all cocktails featured in this list are prepared with a cocktail shaker. If you still don't have one, make sure to order your own Barvivo Cocktail Shaker now and discover the pleasures of mixology. Happy drinking!
Revisit the timeless classic 'Twin Peaks' along with a Damn Fine Cup of Coffee (or Cocktail)
Available: April 8, 1990Okay, let's kick off this list with 'Twin Peaks'. I'm not trying to surprise anyone with this choice, but hear me out: the opening sequence of this classic cult TV series will haunt you for the rest of the winter season.
Perfect for cold afternoon stay-ins, this is a piece of TV that withstands the pass of time surprisingly well. Maybe because it was well ahead of its time when it first aired, back in 1990.
If you've seen it already, rewatching it is an experience I recommend. After all, Kyle Maclachlan's Agent Cooper's slick style and smooth elegance is a timeless reference and the weird, eerie feel of the series will always have a way of catching you off guard.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
What would Agent Cooper drink after a long day of investigations and dealings with paranormal entities? Of course, a coffee-infused cocktail! Introducing the Triple Espresso Martini, a winter cocktail with vodka and coffee.
Triple Espresso Martini
2 ounces vodka
1/2 ounce coffee liqueur (we recommend Kahlúa)
1 ounce espresso, freshly brewed (or cold brew)
1/2 ounce maple syrup
Garnish (optional): coffee beans
Combine the vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso and maple syrup in your shaker filled with ice. Shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled Martini glass, and optionally garnish with three coffee beans.
Welcome nostalgia as winter sets in while you listen to Helado Negro's new album 'Far In'
Available: October 22, 2021New York singer-songwriter Roberto Carlos Lange, a.k.a. Helado Negro, released his seventh album on October 22. We cannot think of a better way to spend the long, moody afternoons of winter than listening to the ethereal soundscapes of the artist.
Recorded entirely in his Brooklyn apartment, the new record leaves behind themes of Latino identity to embrace more poetic, enigmatic verses —the perfect soundtrack to walk down the street on a winter afternoon or stay home staring at the raindrops sliding down the windows.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
In honor of Helado Negro's Ecuadorian roots, we're choosing the Canelazo, a drink meant to warm you up on cold nights. Exactly what you want out of a winter cocktail with rum.
Canelazo
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 ounces orange juice
4 Cinnamon sticks
3 ounces rum
Add all the ingredients except for the rum, orange juice, and lime juice to a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Let sit for another 5 minutes, then add the concoction to your cocktail shaker and pour over the rum. Shake gently, then strain into a small crystal jar.
Get mesmerized by Netflix's horror show 'Midnight Mass' — a reflection on spirituality, regret, and grief
Available: September 24, 2021Mike Flanagan, known for 'The Haunting' anthology, has pushed himself to a new height with 'Midnight Mass'. Set on Crockett Island, a fictional piece of land off an unspecified mainland, the series tells the story of a catholic community whose priest is befallen by illness and replaced by a young, enigmatic preacher who will guide the dark, drowsy little coastal town to salvation.
Made with painstaking attention to detail and exquisite taste, 'Midnight Mass' explores a wide range of themes: death, eternal life, spirituality, regret, depression, and the consequences of blind faith.
It masterfully achieves to induce sheer horror to the viewer with very subtle elements: the setting, the foreshadowing of how the plot will ultimately unfold, and the inevitability that hangs over the brilliantly written characters throughout the whole seven episodes of the series. Oh, and yes, it has a few jumpscares that will catch you off guard completely.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
In the dark world of 'Midnight Mass', you have to be prepared for the night. And what better choice than a Winter Negroni.
Winter Negroni
1 ounce gin
1 ounce amaro
1 ounce red vermouth
1 rosemary twig
Garnish: 1 candied orange slice
To your cocktail shaker, add the gin, amaro, vermouth, and ice. Briefly ignite the rosemary twig with a lighter and blow out the flame, and add to the rest of the ingredients. Shake gently until chilled, and pour over a rocks glass with ice.
Re-discover New York City with ‘How To With John Wilson’
Available: October 23, 2020Ah, New York City. The epitome of diversity, architectural design, and excitement. But within this enrapturing microcosmos of a city, there is also a significant amount of hilarious weirdness.
A heartfelt love letter to the city, HBO's 'How to With John Wilson' is sort of a documentary... or is it a video essay? Maybe a comedy show? It might be an unachievable task to catalog this piece of TV, but something is certain: you will be delighted by this charming series recording the lives of New Yorkers as filmmaker John Wilson attempts to navigate the quirks of everyday life.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
New York City is the main character in 'How to With John Wilson', so let's go with one of the most famous cocktails with whiskey that takes its name right from the Big Apple: the Winter Manhattan.
Winter Manhattan
2 ounces Rye Whiskey
1/2 ounce Amaro Lucano
2 dashes of orange bitters
Yellow Chartreuse mount
Garnish: long lemon peel stripe
Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and add the whiskey, amaro, and bitters. Shake until well chilled. Pour four dashes of Yellow Chartreuse and twist the glass, coating the inside with this liquor. Strain the cocktail shaker into a Martini glass. Peel a long lemon strip and express the oils into the drink, then garnish the top with it.
Fashion, luxury, murder, and a killer cocktail: ‘House of Gucci’
Available: November 24, 2021This is, perhaps, the most buzzed-about movie release of the season. 'House of Gucci' is Ridley Scott's theatrical take on the story and legacy of the Gucci empire, and how it was both set ablaze and pushed into the immortal brand that is today by one woman: Patrizia Reggiani.
An infamous character portrayed by none other than Lady Gaga, who married into the Gucci family through Maurizio Gucci, interpreted by Adam Driver. Their story is part glamour and sex, part death and betrayal, and full part morbid scandal. One that took Italian tabloids by storm in the 1990s and that is now being taken to the big screen, premiering November 26.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
This movie calls for a classy cocktail, no doubt. So... let's go all the way with a wintery Champagne Cocktail you can prepare in minutes and sip on while you enjoy the movie.
Champagne Cocktail
4 ounces champagne or sparkling wine
1 sugar cube
Angostura bitters
Garnish: lime twist
Soak the sugar cube in Angostura bitters. Drop it into a champagne glass and fill it with champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with a lime twist on top.
Set the mood for the winter with James Blake’s ‘Friends That Break Your Heart’
Available: October 8, 2021The English singer, songwriter, and producer James Blake is probably one of the musicians who know best how to convey melancholy with his craft. 'Friends That Break Your Heart' is his fifth studio album and one that features James Blake's production trademarks: a masterful use of silences, futurist synths, and a broken and expressive voice.
A great listening choice for winter 2021, this LP creates a perfect soundtrack for the season —whether you've had a friend break your heart or not.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
If you're listening to the album now, you'll be wanting a winter cocktail that helps you survive winter's blues. What about a Winter Margarita? Recipe below.
Winter Margarita
1 ounce tequila (reposado)
1 ounce mezcal
1 ounce lime juice
3/4 ounces maple syrup
1 egg white
To your cocktail shaker, add all ingredients and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Then add ice, and shake for another 30 seconds. Strain into a champagne coupe previously garnished with a salt rim.
‘The Big Heat’, a cocktail of gangsters and corruption in black and white
Available: April 11, 1954Of all the year's seasons, winter is, without doubt, the one to rewatch an old black and white film along with a nice cocktail. This year, our pick is 'The Big Heat', the 1953 classic noir crime film that features the usual mix of corruption, crime syndicates, and violence.
Magnificently directed by Fritz Lang, better known for his masterpiece 'Metropolis', 'The Big Heat' is a multifaced movie that tells the tale of a righteous cop trying to survive in a city full of crime.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
For an old-time movie, an old-fashioned cocktail. This spiced Winter Old Fashioned is the king of winter cocktails with whiskey and fits the theme all too well.
Winter Old Fashioned
For the spiced syrup:
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 rosemary twigs
2 cinnamon sticks
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and stir. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove it from the heat and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
For the cocktail:
3 teaspoons winter spiced syrup
2 ounces bourbon
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish (optional): rosemary twig and cinnamon sticks
Combine the syrup, bourbon, and Angostura bitters in your cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Pour over a rocks glass with ice and optionally garnish with a rosemary twig and a cinnamon stick.
Get lost in a forgotten corner of the East Coast with 'Mare of Easttown'
Available: April 18, 2021This show's plot is fairly straightforward: an experienced detective trying to stay afloat, a brutal murder in a secluded little town in Pennsylvania, and a disappearance case that could never be solved. This might sound a bit uninteresting at first glance, but what makes 'Mare of Easttown' stand high among so many other shows is having Kate Winslet filling the shoes of the lead character, Mare, in what is one of her best performances to date.
The atmosphere of the series is bleak, cold, and inhospitable, which makes even more welcoming the fact that you're nested in your couch with a couple of winter cocktails.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
Whiskey Sour. The citrusy, acid flavor of this easy-to-make winter cocktail with whiskey is a perfect match for this series. Be warned though, it might become your favorite cocktail of the season and make you not want to try anything else!
Whiskey Sour
2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce maple syrup
1 egg white
Garnish: Orange wheel, speared maraschino cherry
To your cocktail shaker, add the bourbon, lime juice, maple syrup, and egg white. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Add ice and shake for another 30 seconds. Strain into a champagne coupe filled with ice and top it up with an orange wheel and a speared maraschino cherry.
Listen to Celeste's stunning 'Not Your Muse' along a colorful cocktail
Available: January 29, 2021The haunting debut of English soul singer Celeste, 'Not Your Muse', evokes Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black' with a powerful, elegant collection of 12 songs that are just perfect for the season.
Celeste's hypnotic voice turns poetry into a spell, capable of conveying emotional devastation and sheer beauty in equal parts.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
Inspired by this album’s vivid, raw displays of emotion, we've chosen the red-hued, we've chosen the Good Tidings, one of our favorite winter cocktails with vodka.
Good Tidings
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 tablespoon allspice dram
Soda
Garnish: lime wheel
Add all ingredients to your shaker full of ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a Collins glass with ice and top up with soda. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Take back to the 1960s with 'Last Night in Soho'
Available: November 19, 2021Here's our last stop: a stylish psychological thriller on the effects of obsessive nostalgia that takes us viewers on a trip back in time to the 1960s. A blasting cascade of retro references to the swinging sixties interweaves this modern-day Hitchcock pastiche, with London's West End as a backdrop.
Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) is a fashion student who lives in the present day, but is obsessed with the era of Technicolor, bangs, and shining cinema marquees. Her obsession is quenched when she becomes haunted by visions of the life of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a singer wannabe aspiring to stardom in the 1960s world of glittering jukeboxes.
Winter cocktail recipe of choice
As it couldn't be otherwise, we've selected James Bond's drink of choice, the Vesper Martini. This winter cocktail with vodka also happens to be Sandie's favorite in 'Last Night in Soho'.
Vesper Martini
3 ounces gin
1 ounce vodka
½ ounce Lillet blanc aperitif (or any sweet white vermouth)
Garnish: long lemon twist
To your cocktail shaker, add the gin, vodka, white vermouth, and ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled Martini glass. Express the lemon twist over the drink to release its oils and rub it along the glass, then garnish the top of the drink with it.
