The Food Network’s 50 States of Warming Cocktails
The rooftop lounge and creative cocktails at New Haven's Elm City Social make it a top spot year-round. When the temperatures start to dip, the rooftop transforms from a tiki bar to a ski lodge, complete with flannel blankets, cozy throw pillows and menus printed to look like ski-lift passes. Get into the spirit and sip one of the hot cocktails, such as the fan-favorite Irish coffee — it's a deceptively simple drink, but as with all of Elm City Social's cocktails, the bartenders don't take any shortcuts. They combine freshly brewed coffee, Irish whiskey and housemade demerara syrup and top it all off with hand-shaken whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg (Connecticut is the Nutmeg State, after all). Coffee not your thing? Opt for a sweet tea toddy or a tequila-spiked Mexican hot chocolate. Pair it with one of the housemade snowball pastries, a gourmet take on the classic shredded-coconut-and-cream-filled chocolate cakes.
