National Hot Chocolate Day

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National Hot Chocolate Day is on January 31st in the United States.

Hot chocolate, which can also be called drinking chocolate and cocoa, is, as the name suggests, a hot beverage made from chocolate. It is made from shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, which are added to heated milk or water, and a sweetener is frequently added too. The drink can then be topped with marshmallows or whipped cream. Or both. Dustings of cocoa on the top are not unheard of either.

The earliest known hot chocolate drinks were used by the Mayans, although they frequently added chillies to their chocolate, something that is definitely not common in the drinks many modern cultures are familiar with. Hot chocolate was brought back to Europe, and initially the bitter drink was the one used. The sweeter, modern version was invented and slowly became more common and it became popular and spread.

The best hot chocolate drinks are considered to be those made with actual chocolate, rather than cocoa.

National Irish Coffee Day

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January 25th is National Irish Coffee Day in the United States.

Technically a type of cocktail, Irish Coffee is one of a range of coffee and liqueur drinks. The drink first named Irish Coffee was invented in the 1940s, but similar drinks predate it by at least 100 years.

The drink is made from 2 parts of Irish whiskey (Irish whiskey is usually distilled three times, whilst Scotch whiskey is usually only distilled twice) to 4 parts hot coffee to 1.5 parts fresh cream and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Everything except the cream is heated together and then poured into an Irish coffee mug, which is then topped with the cream and served hot. If served in a glass, the finished drink does not look that dissimilar to another famous Irish drink; Guinness, the most well-known Irish stout.

Irish Coffee is one of a range of liqueur coffees in which distilled spirits are added to coffee. These other drinks are believed to be derived from this.

National Green Juice Day

Michelle Reaves [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]

January 24th is National Green Juice Day in the United States.

This is, to a degree, one of the more commercial days, for it was started by a company, Evolution Fresh, that makes various natural and organic fruit juices, smoothies, soups and salads. However, it is also intended to be a day that encourages people to be healthier by drinking more green juice. Perhaps from Evolution Fresh, admittedly.

Green juice, in this context, would mean various drinks that are made from pressing fruits, vegetables or both. Although, quite a few healthy green drinks do have a rather unpleasant taste and texture to them. Those should perhaps be avoided. Made properly, green juices can be far healthier drinks, and can also be far tastier than the stereotypical green glop that tends to be shown in the media.

Even though the day is promoting green juices, you could always have a healthy fruit or vegetable drink that isn't green.

National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Jill Robidoux from beantown [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

January 17th is National Hot Buttered Rum Day in the United States.

This rather bizarre sounding item is actually a cocktail - something that may not have immediately sprung to mind when you heard of it. It's not the band either (because there is a band called Hot Buttered Rum).

As a type of cocktail, it probably bears more resemblance to drinks such as eggnog or a hot toddy than any of the more common cocktails. Indeed, it likely originated at around the same sort of time as the colonial American variants of those drinks.

It is made from rum, butter, hot water (or cider), a sweetener and spices, with cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg being the most common, and the finished drink served in a coffee cup. Many of the ingredients, and the similar drinks, are strongly associated with the holiday season, as is the drink itself. Even though January is a bit on the late side for Christmas. There is a variant of the drink that omits the spices, another that use vanilla ice cream instead of or as well as the butter and one that is thought to be healthier that uses coconut oil instead of butter.

Hot Toddy Day

Patrick Truby [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

January 11th is Hot Toddy Day in the United States.

When winter is here in January, a hot toddy could be just what you need to warm yourself up. Traditionally, hot toddies are drunk in wet and cold weather, or when ill, specifically to relieve the symptoms of cold or flu. The word "toddy" itself comes from an Indian drink made by fermenting the sap of palm trees.

Hot toddies are an alcoholic drink. The two most common versions are the Scotch and Irish toddies. The Scottish toddy uses Scotch whisky (of course!), boiling water and either honey or sugar. Spices, such as cinnamon or cloves, and a lemon slice may also be added.

Irish toddies naturally use Irish whisky, brown sugar, cloves, a slice of lemon and hot water. They are also known as a hot whiskey in Ireland.

In Canada, maple syrup may be used instead of honey.

National Buffet Day

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January 2nd is National Buffet Day in the United States.

What is a buffet? Well, it's considered to be a version of service à la française - service in the French style - where all the dishes of a meal are served at the same time. With a buffet, these dishes are placed on a table or tables and the diners help themselves, or perhaps get some items served by attending chefs.

Most buffets come with a variety of both hot and cold foods, and those that just have cold food are generally called a Smörgåsbord. Buffets where the food is all designed to be eaten without utensils is called a finger buffet.

Buffets were originally considered to be a more informal way of dining and, since their origins, have become popular as a way of serving diners in restaurants. Hotels especially have tended to use the buffet layout to serve breakfast, whether this be a Full English or a variant, a cold, Continental style breakfast, or a variant that includes both.

Outside of restaurants and hotels, buffets are common at parties, whether these be small home gatherings or celebratory events held in function rooms.

National Bloody Mary Day

Evan Swigart from Chicago, USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

January 1st is National Bloody Mary Day in the United States.

The Bloody Mary is a cocktail. Although at its most basic, according to the IBA, it contain 3 parts of vodka to 6 parts of tomato juice to one part of lemon juice, it is actually much more complex.

First, Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco Sauce, salt and pepper should be added to a highball glass, then they and the rest of the ingredients should be poured over ice into another highball glass and stirred. The drink is then garnished with a celery stalk and, optionally, a lemon wedge.

Other ingredients that have been added include beef consommé, horseradish, piri piri sauce, cayenne pepper, celery salt and olive.

Commonly a hair of the dog drink drunk to cure hangovers (it doesn't), January 1st is an ideal day to have it after the celebrations of New Year's Eve.