In our Drink of the Week segment, we’ll showcase one unique type of beer, wine, cocktail — you name it — to try at one of the countless breweries, bars and restaurants from around the basin.

The thing about winter cocktails is that, for the most part, you really only have winter to enjoy them so they are somewhat on a ticking clock. Summer cocktails, like the daiquiri, while better in the warmer months, can still be taken down any month out of the year. But warm cocktails, like this week’s feature, are probably not going to get much play in the middle of July or August. 

Gluehwein is essentially a mulled wine. If you’re not on the up and up with your mulled wine vernacular, it is a warmed wine with spices and citrus. In this case, Flatstick Pub, which looks to source the brews and wines they pour within a 90-mile radius, centralizes a cabernet sauvignon from El Dorado County as the star of the show. The wine gets a little heat treatment and steeps with cinnamon, cloves, lemon, and a wee bit of sugar. It’s served with a cinnamon stick (the king of winter cocktail stirrers) and an orange slice. 

If you’re not a wine fan, don’t completely shut you brain off just yet. Yes, you do hit all the notes of a red wine, but it’s not the same. The heat tones back any bite you might associate with red wine and the citrus and spices bring in familiar flavors that wrap you up like a warm blanket on a carriage ride. 

It’s quite the smooth customer and doesn’t carry the lingering aftertaste some red wines tend to do. And, in times like we’ve been experiencing with our recent storms, it’ll put all the warmth back into your extremities – and then some. 

If this cocktail is on your to-do list, you really have to drink this while it’s hot (literally). Because in a few months all this snow will be gone (well, who knows with this winter), and you’ll be craving that sunshine and something perhaps a bit cooler to whet the whistle. Cheers! 

Flatstick Pub is located at 4101 No. 101 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe. For food and drink menus and additional information visit them online at tipsyputt.com or reach them via phone at 530-443-4376.