9 Boozy Hot Chocolate Recipes for the Ultimate Cocoa Bar

Hot chocolate is so sweet, creamy, and rich, but it's also so totally missing something. How about a little bit of booze? Yeah, that's right. Adding a splash of liqueur to your hot chocolate takes it from a kiddie delight to a dreamy treat. What're you waiting for? It's time to get cozy!

A splash of vodka, plain or flavored, is all you need to take your hot chocolate to the next level. It really is that easy. 

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 1½ ounces vodka
• 1 ounce Irish cream
• Marshmallows for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the warm mug, add hot chocolate, vodka, and Irish cream.
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with marshmallows.

There are a few tasty ways to add peppermint flavors to your hot chocolate: you can use peppermint hot chocolate, add peppermint schnapps, or, as you’ll see, make it a little extra special.

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 1½ ounces peppermint vodka
• 1 ounce RumChata peppermint
• Marshmallows and cinnamon stick for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the warm mug, add hot chocolate, peppermint vodka, and RumChata peppermint.
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with marshmallows and cinnamon stick.

Related: 9 Hot Rum Drinks to Warm Up Your Winter

Between you and me, I don’t understand why white chocolate has such a bad reputation. But maybe you can persuade a few friends to fall in love after whipping this up for them.

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared white hot chocolate
• 1½ ounces banana liqueur
• ¾ ounce amaretto
• Cinnamon sprinkle for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the warm mug, add white hot chocolate, banana liqueur, and amaretto.
3. Stir briefly to mix.
4. Garnish with a cinnamon sprinkle.

For those who just cannot get enough chocolate, this is the boozy hot chocolate of their dreams. Pairs well with cozy pants and the couch.

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 1½ ounces chocolate cream liqueur
• 1 ounce chocolate vodka
• ¾ ounce hazelnut liqueur
• Marshmallows and chocolate sauce for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the mug, add hot chocolate, chocolate cream liqueur, chocolate vodka, and hazelnut liqueur. 
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with marshmallows, then drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Equal parts hot chocolate and coffee, get your buzz on in more than one way while warming up and indulging your sweet tooth. Honestly? Greatest creation since sliced bread.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 2 ounces freshly brewed coffee
• 1½ ounces vodka OR bourbon
• 1 ounce Irish cream
• Whipped cream and chocolate shavings for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the mug, add hot chocolate, coffee, vodka, and Irish cream.
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Get super cozy and warm with some zingy cinnamon and chocolate flavors. It’s time you switched from shooting cinnamon whiskey to sipping it.

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 1½ ounces cinnamon whiskey
• ½ ounce caramel schnapps
• Marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the mug, add hot chocolate, cinnamon whiskey, and caramel schnapps.
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.

Peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. They’re the most iconic pairing, full stop. So why not stir those two together into your mug?

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 2 ounces peanut butter whiskey
• ¾ ounce Irish cream
• Marshmallows and chocolate pieces for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the mug, add hot chocolate, peanut butter whiskey, and Irish cream.
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with marshmallows and chocolate pieces.

Feeling nuts with all that cabin fever? Or maybe you’re climbing the walls because you’re hoping for a blizzard that’ll cover the yard in snow? Channel that energy into this hot chocolate and go nuts for this amaretto version instead.

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Part nostalgia with that favorite gooey childhood candy bar with equal parts adult and cocktail experience equals cancel your plans.

Ingredients

• 5 ounces prepared hot chocolate
• 1½ ounces caramel vodka
• ½ ounce butterscotch schnapps
• ¼ ounce peanut butter whiskey
• Whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and chocolate sauce for garnish

Instructions

1. Warm a mug.
2. In the mug, add hot chocolate, caramel vodka, butterscotch schnapps, and peanut butter whiskey.
3. Stir to mix.
4. Garnish with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and chocolate sauce.

Looking for ways to build a choose-your-own-adventure boozy hot chocolate? These staples will get you started on your way. 

• Spiced rum
• Dark or coconut rum
• Plain vodka
• Bourbon
• Flavored vodka or flavored bourbons, such as vanilla, s’more, whipped cream, coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, salted caramel, or walnut
• Maple liqueur
• Coffee liqueur
• Tequila
• Amaretto liqueur
• Irish cream
• Hazelnut liqueur
• Peppermint liqueur
• Orange liqueur
• Cherry liqueur
• Coconut rum
• Cinnamon liqueur 
• Raspberry liqueur
• Butterscotch liqueur

Looking for a hug in a mug? Perhaps you want to warm up your hands and your heart? Well, now that you have these boozy hot chocolate ideas dancing around in your head, the solution is oh so very apparent. The hardest part is definitely deciding where to start. May we suggest a boozy hot chocolate flight?