Where To Find (Some Of!) The Best Hot Toddies in Connecticut

Something struck me this winter, and do you know what it was? It was a flesh-searing blast of icy wind. On several occasions, actually, and each time I was forced to consider and reconsider which was worse: the strong possibility of frostbite, or a warm mug of gently steaming, thoughtfully prepared booze? The frostbite, I determined, was the less desirable of the two. Having made this intellectual leap, I turned my possibly cold-deadened wits to discovering where I - indeed where we, dear reader - could bend our frozen paws around a glass, mug, or if need be, dish of medium-high proof restorative.

This list (and feel free to add your favorites in the comments, and on our social media feeds) is an incomplete look at everywhere in our great state where hot drinks are sold. Let's just call it a survey, a "jump off," if you must, to locating our lost good will where it can usually be found this time of year, at the bottom of a cup.

116Crown, New Haven

The glowing alabaster bar top and cylindrically padded wraparound booths of 116 have always felt a bit like a bar out of Neuromancer to me. As if suits from some biotech zaibatsu should be doing deals with a razorgirl in one of the corners as I drink a glowing green Chantme. There are pages of creative cocktails on the menu, but 116's Hot Toddy keeps it classic, with Maker's Mark 46, local honey, and fresh squeezed lemon juice, all topped off with hot water.

@ The Corner, Litchfield

Litchfield's corner gastropub is a favorite with several of us on this site, and while the food and excellent tap list may have brought us in, we would never overlook their killer cocktail program. Bartender Candice Kazlauskas' contribution to this winter's warmers is a very photogenic Red Hot Toddy latte with Litchfield Distillery Cinnamon Bourbon, Rumchata, Harney & Sons hot cinnamon spice tea, Godiva white chocolate liqueur, and a red sugar rim.

Anchor Spa, New Haven

First created as a speakesy in Milford's Anchor Beach neighborhood, the Anchor Spa has been a fixture of New Haven's cocktail scene since moving house 1939. In a spot leased by its original resident (Rev. William Hooke) in the 17th century to his church, then to Yale on a nearly thousand-year lease, the bar hosted luminaries of the social scene, business, politics, and hundreds of celebrity theater and musical acts before hitting the skids and closing its doors in 2015. A petition to save the Anchor sprung up immediately (my name's on it), and Yalie Karl Franz Williams jumped on the opportunity to save the bar, and (thankfully!) its signature Art Moderne facade.

Karl whipped up a toddy featuring a heavily cinnamon-infused batch of Cardinal rye whiskey from Indiana, hot water, and a cardamom seed-topped lemon wheel.

Camacho Garage/Geronimo, New Haven & Fairfield

Arturo Franco-Camacho keeps it southwestern in Connecticut with his two locations of Geronimo Tequila Bar in New Haven and Fairfield, and considerably farther south with his newest, all-Mex creations at Camacho Garage, around the corner from Edgewood Park. All three spots will now offer El Sarape, with cinnamon-guajillo-infused reposado tequila, ginger, and hot apple cider, and why am I not drinking one of these right now?

Conspiracy, Middletown

Head upstairs to the high, laid-back class surrounding the rectangular bar at Main Street Middletown's speakeasy, and you'll find an extensive cocktail list to enjoy from what may be some of the best bar chairs in the state. Our subject today is the Tartan Toddy: Scotch, Drambuie, lemon, house made grapefruit marmalade syrup, and a blend of orange, cinnamon and Earl Grey tea. Conspiracy says the caramelized notes of the marmalade pair perfectly with the tea, and I'm guessing ten million Britons aren't wrong on that account.

The Cottage, Westport

Beverage director Ralph Leon has raided both the spice rack and freezer for the Hot & Buttered cocktail with Ron Zacapa 23 year old rum, ice cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, a pinch of salt, and melted butter. It's basically the ice cream float of kings.

Don Memo, Westport

Branden Hahn puts a Mexican twist on the toddy by basing his Ponche de Frutas on mezcal, then adding an orchard worth of apple, tamarind, guava, red plum, lemon, orange, hibiscus, and cinnamon. So that's why you can drink as many as you want tonight. Because of the fruits. For your health.

Engine Room, Mystic

The old Lathrop Marine Engine building was given quite an upgrade when it was refurbished into Engine Room, where the focus on elevating American comfort food to immensely satisfying art has kept chefs James Wayman, Dan Meisner and Chris Vanasse in the foodie news, but it was Megan Thompson and Lily Isted behind the bar who present the Butter Me Up, starting with Makers Mark fat washed with spiced butter, and orange clove syrup, warmed up with a topper of Earl Grey tea to fortify mind and body against the strongest of gusts blowing down the Mystic River valley.

Highland Brass Co., Waterbury

Waterbury's hilltop tiki bar has been under the care of second owner Matt Sedlak for some time now, and while the theme may be all grass skirts and pineapples in the summer, he rotates a selection of toddies for their menu during the winter months. Head over for some time for drinks like their Hot Buttered Rum: Aged Puerto Rican Rum, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, dark brown sugar, and cloves. Served hot with honey and vanilla whipped cream.

Millwright’s, Simsbury

Chef Tyler Anderson's Simsbury restaurant has earned plaudits with critics and diners alike, and this toddy, created by GM Vanessa Tosi, should be a welcome addition to their winter menu. Cinnamon tea infused bourbon receives a dose of habanero infused honey for a sweet, hot, and tart drink, topped with lemon juice and hot water.

Ordinary, New Haven

The Taft Hotel Bar has aged like a Napoleonic brandy risen from a Baltic shipwreck to become Ordinary, which was refurbished from its beery days as Richter's to become the most classical cocktail bar in the Elm City. While they usually have some hot cider or mulled wine bubbling away in an urn behind the bar, they'll also serve a hot toddy upon request, made from Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey, Clear Creek Pear liqueur, chamomile tea syrup, Liberation ginger clove bitters, hot water, and lemon oil. Soak in the atmosphere as you soak up one or two of these.

The Spread, South Norwalk

The Spread has a new home in the Ironworks off Washington Street in SoNo, but they continue to have fun with their cocktail names. There are a few hot drinks on the menu this winter, including the James Joyce (with Jameson), Buckingham (with gin, lemon, and cloves), and the Pear-ly Legal Toddy, with spiced pear liqueur, honey, orange, lemon, and your choice of teas.

Townhouse, Greenwich

Tucked way out into a far corner of the state there's a little-known hamlet called Greenwich. Perhaps you've heard of it? If you can get all the way out there, and your nav can find this one house on Church Street, some guy named Stephen Lewandowski will make you some pretty good food back in his kitchen. While you're there, you may as well have a Spiked Hotty, with Nikka whisky, hot apple cider, lemon, and spiced cinnamon apple slices. Really avail yourself of the burg's small-town hospitality.

Viron Rondo Osteria, Cheshire

The Viron Rondo Osteria mulled wine is inspired by beverage director Dimitrios Zahariadis’s travels to Munich and the Glühwein carts across the city. He calls it "a soul warming concoction" of red wine, black currant juice, allspice liqueur, and various baking spices to help tackle the bitter New England winter.

Walrus Alley, Westport

Locals in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport were robbed at least twice in 2020, when a dispute with a landlord snapped the chain of Fairfield Avenue anchor Walrus+Carpenter, and then again when a planned going away party which would have gone down in legend drifted away with the ship due to the coronavirus. The Walrus' next 'port of call was West, where owner Joe Farrell reinvented Rothbard Ale & Larder into Walrus Alley. To make up for the previous twinned outrages, he's offering two hot drinks this winter. As a nod to the recent, German history inside the four walls, a Glühwein arrives with merlot spiced with clove, star anise and cinnamon, a bracing dose of brandy, and a high proof rum float to put an additional wind in the sails. The New England staple Hot Buttered Rum starts with a batter mixture of butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, then prepared with hot water, and El Dorado 3 Year Rum.

They're all waiting whenever you're ready to get a warm glow on. See you out there.