Stay Warm this Winter with SLO’s Best Hot Drinks to Go
Maple Brown Rum at Dead Oak Brewing Company
Rachel Ponce, chef and owner at Pair With Chef Rachel and Recipe Developer at Edible SLO, wants you to love warm beer — that is, the warm beer that comes with a delicious rummy twist. Dead Oak Brewing Company in Atascadero is serving up Maple Brown Rum, which blends Dead Oak English Brown Ale with a dark rum caramel made with maple syrup, then serves it warm, topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. “It is so addicting,” Ponce says. “You can get a cup of Maple Rum Brown while you are waiting to get your beer to-go on Saturdays.” Visit Dead Oak Brewing Company and call ahead for hours, as currently they’re only open for pick-ups on Saturdays.
Hot Chocolate at Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates
The hot chocolate at Mama Ganache isn’t just divine — it’s also available in powder form, so you can make it at home on nights when you don’t feel like heading outside. You can order online or stop into the shop in SLO for classic, Aztec and peppermint hot chocolate powders in a variety of sizes. Made from pure grated 70% bittersweet chocolate, dutched cocoa from the Dominican Republic and organic sugar, this isn’t your average hot chocolate. Not only is it more intensely chocolatey, but it makes a mean vegan version too, when you make it with soy milk. If you’re going for dairy, try using half-and-half for a luscious flavor.
Hot Chai Latte at Field Day Coffee and SLO Provisions
Kendra Aronson, author of The San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market Cookbook and Contributing Food Photographer at Edible SLO, loves the chai latte at both of these local establishments. Both chai lattes are made with Dona Chai concentrate, which has organic black tea, green cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and black peppercorn. “I’m obsessed with any drinks or baked goods that feature cardamom and you can really taste it in this drink,” Aronson says. You can find this cardamom chai goodness at Field Day Coffee and SLO Provisions.
Vin Glogg at Glunz Family Winery & Cellars
Lori Rice, a writer, food photographer, and contributor at Edible SLO, loves this vin glogg to go from Glunz Family Winery & Cellars. “(It) reminds me of walking through the Christmas markets of Vienna and Copenhagen.” The glogg is perfectly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and orange peel, but the most important factor, according to Rice, is the blend of dry red wine and port that ensures the glogg isn’t too sweet. “That’s where many mulled wines go wrong,” Rice says. Pair this warm spiced wine with some holiday sweets and you’ve got a cozy evening.
The Perfect Winter Latte at Field Day Coffee
Field Day Coffee’s Perfect Winter Latte is the ideal gourmet winter warmer-upper. With red rooibos tea from The Secret Garden Herb Shop, plus a Four Roses bourbon reduction, brown sugar and winter spices, this is a rich, complex and exciting drink to fuel your winter yard work sessions and fireside chats.
Sweet and Spicy Chai at Bru Coffeehouse
Meagan Friberg, a freelance writer for Edible SLO, loves the chai at Bru Coffeehouse in Atascadero. “It’s such a treat,” Friberg says. “A frothy, hot, perfectly blended combination of sweet and spicy chai latte with almond milk.”
