How to make a spiked hot chocolate with homemade liqueur

December 28, 2025

A hot chocolate with a splash of liqueur in it is one of the easiest winter drinks there is, and if you make the liqueur yourself from an essence you get to pick exactly how sweet it is, which matters, because most bought liqueurs are sweet enough on their own to drown the chocolate.

Pick the liqueur first

A chocolate cream liqueur doubles down on the chocolate and a hazelnut one gives it a nutty feel. If you've got a sweet tooth, butterscotch makes it taste a bit like dessert. Cream liqueurs are made up with a cream liqueur base and the clear ones with a liqueur base, and the bottle tells you which and how much, so read it before you start rather than after.

One thing worth knowing before you start, because it trips people up. Mixing an essence into a neutral spirit you've bought isn't distilling and doesn't need a licence. Distilling that base spirit yourself does, though, and it's an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO even if you never sell a drop.

How I'd make it

250ml milk. Full cream, or half milk and half cream if it's that kind of night.
2 tablespoons of cocoa and a teaspoon of sugar. Or your usual hot chocolate mix.
30ml to 45ml of your liqueur. Start at the lower end, you can always add more.
Whipped cream or grated chocolate on top. Optional, but it's hard to argue with.

Warm the milk gently in a saucepan without letting it boil and whisk the cocoa and sugar in until it's smooth. Take it off the heat before the liqueur goes in, because boiling it drives off the alcohol and some of the flavour with it. Pour it into a mug and top it however you like.

Making a batch for later

A cream liqueur keeps in the fridge in a clean bottle, and a clear one keeps in the cupboard, so it's worth making a full bottle up rather than a single serve. Give a cream one a shake before you pour, because it settles.

Shop related products

Still Spirits Chocolate Cream 50ML. A chocolate cream liqueur for the full chocolate version.
Still Spirits Hazelnut 50ML. For a nutty hot chocolate.
Still Spirits Butterscotch Schnapps 50ML. For a sweeter, dessert style mug.
Still Spirits Cream Liqueur Base 400g. The base a cream liqueur gets made up with.

Did you know we also keep the Still Spirits Swiss Chocolate Almond and Chocolate Mint liqueur essences in the shop. They're not on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.