This month Mixology Monday is all about north hemisphere winter time!

Our host is the Doctor of the Doc Elliot’s Mixology blog. The assignment is a winter-time remedy to brace the soul of those suffering from the winter blues.

Here in Brazil we are starting the summer, some days are very rainy and cloudy which can cause a little bit of depression.
But, winter here only comes by June when we have the Festas Juninas, celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist.
It is very usual in the countryside to make huge bonfires and party around it eating lots of corn based foods, peanut based candies and drinking the seasonal beverage: Quentão.

Quentão (literally means:Very Hot) is a cachaça based Hot Toddy-style beverage which also resembles a cachaça based Mulled Wine.
Typically it is made with burnt sugar syrup and spices like clove, cinnamon & ginger with some oranges to provide acidity and hot water, of course.

It is usually made in big pans so everybody can enjoy a little!

For me the usual Quentão is very aggressive since the water don’t really give a body to smooth out the alcohol taste. A good option to substitute water is apple juice…

The spices can be changed by taste but a little vanilla makes wonders to this cocktail!

You can make one from the scratch with a little bit of imagination if you don’t have any spices hanging around.
Although it is very difficult to give a better recipe than “season to taste”, here is what I did:

Quentão (from the scratch)

3oz ginger tissane

¼oz simple syrup

¼oz lime juice

¼oz vanilla liquor

1oz Cachaça

½oz vermouth

2 dashes Angostura

Heat all ingredients and add to a heated Irish Coffee mug.
Garnish with grated nutmeg.

Hope you have a great bottling of cachaça around to try this wonderful brazilian beverage.

Thanks Doctor and Fred Yarm to keep the flame of MxMo alive.
Saúde!