Cold days require warm drinks: coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

The mug warms your hands; the steam thaws your nose; the liquid going down heats everything up. Good flavors just boost the happiness quotient.

It’s physical and psychological comfort, and it’s a simple pleasure.

But variations on those basic beverages, spiked with spirits, can really help the over-21 crowd to chill out while recovering from the chill.

Mt. Bachelor’s Clearing Rock Bar and the Seventh Mountain Resort are just two of many local venues that know how to warm up cold customers.

“I find that if there are high winds, or if it’s super cold, or a long lift line, and they come in and are a little grouchy, as soon as they get that delicious hot drink delivered to the table, they’re in a much better mood,” said Carolyn Grooms, bar manager of Clearing Rock Bar on the mountain.

Grooms told us that on a typical winter weekend day, “The Rock” in the West Village Lodge at Mt. Bachelor, serves anywhere from 500 to 800 hot, adult-style coffee, chai tea, hot chocolate and cider drinks that include alcohol.

The Face Plant is Clearing Rock Bar’s top seller. The drink is hot chocolate with rum, peppermint schnapps and whipped cream. Also popular are Spanish Coffee, the Nutty Irishman and Chai Haze (see recipes).

The Seventh Mountain Resort’s RimRock Bar and Seasons Restaurant have five warm drinks on their winter menu: White Hot Chocolate, Hot Apple Pie, Baked Pumpkin Roll, Hot Pama and a Seventh Mountain Toddy (see recipes).

‘Life worth living’

“Hot drinks make everything OK,” said craft and food stylist Paul Lowe in a phone interview from his Brooklyn, N.Y., office.

He’s co-author of “Slurp,” a visually captivating cookbook of cocktails, coffees, coolers and smoothies, plus “light fare” to go with them.

The Oslo, Norway, native is also a popular blogger and the creator of Sweet Paul Magazine, a quarterly dedicated to “easy yet elegant recipes, stylish crafts, entertaining ideas … and more.” (www.sweetpaul mag.com)

“If you’re cold and your nose is running, or if you’re wet, and you go inside or sit by a fireplace, and someone gives you a hot chocolate or even just coffee, it makes life worth living again,” Lowe said.

Amen to that, especially for those who have been skiing for a couple of hours, snowshoeing, ice skating or simply walking up and down Pilot Butte with the dog on a chilly winter’s day.

To recover from the cold, Lowe recommends his favorite hot drink, Amaretto Coffee (see recipe). It’s a cuppa Joe jazzed up with a shot of sweet, almond-flavored liqueur, some whipped cream and chocolate on top.

“I love amaretto; it’s such a rich and amazing flavor. I always make this coffee with hot milk, put amaretto in, and shavings of chocolate on top, and it’s like drinking a tiramisu. It’s so, so, so good,” he said.

You may be inspired to mix up a thermos of something warm (and maybe even spirited) for your next adventure in the cold.

Because warm winter drinks are so comforting, and go down so easily, it’s a good idea to carefully monitor your intake of alcoholic beverages, and refrain from driving if you’re drinking, of course.

If you enjoy red wine or sangria in warmer weather, you should give mulled wine a try in the winter. “Slurp’s” Gluhwein recipe is included, but Lowe said that every family makes it a little differently, so feel free to improvise.

“In our family, we use red wine, some vodka and some Grand Marnier. Spices like dried ginger pieces, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, dried orange peel — nothing ground, because you don’t want sludge. Take it to a simmer only. The secret is not to boil it. I make it at least the night before, (and then refrigerate it) because the longer it stands, the more flavorful and rich it will be,” Lowe said.

Lowe doesn’t strain his mulled wine, but said that you can put the spices in a cheesecloth bag or strain it before serving, if you prefer. Drink it warmed, with orange and lemon slices and a piece of real cinnamon for a swizzle stick.

Warm drinks, with or without alcohol, take the edge off harsh winter weather. Come in from the cold and be cheered by a mug of something hot and delicious.

Hot drink tips

• Be sure to use heatproof mugs or glasses made of tempered glass

• Put the alcohol in your mug first, and then add the hot beverage (coffee, water, tea, cider, etc.). Prolonged simmering or boiling will reduce the alcohol content.

• One 12-ounce beer is about 5 percent alcohol, one 5-ounce wine is about 12 percent alcohol, a 1.5-ounce shot of 80-proof “hard liquor” is 40 percent alcohol, so be aware that two shots in one hot drink makes a strong beverage.

Source: “Slurp,” by Nina Dreyer Hensley, Jim Hensley and Paul Lowe, and http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/ToolsResources/CocktailCalculator.asp