Winter is here! Whether you’re all about chasing the weather and heading out to the slopes or hunkering down for a movie marathon, you are not alone in how you choose to embrace — or endure — the winter season.

We asked our Patrón Education team, spread out across the US from Charlotte, NC to Las Vegas, NV, how they winter, including what they’re drinking, watching, and looking forward to. From snow bunnies to tv binge sessions, we learn how our friends make the most of this time below!

Egor Polonskiy | Manager of Trade Education & Mixology, West Region

What’s your go-to cocktail this winter? Does it have an ideal snack pairing?
As I am the chef in my household, I do use quite a bit of tequila when I am cooking (sometimes within the dish, but mostly just sip it neat). As someone who does not snack, I will give you my favorite winter dish: Veal Pelmeni. Those are basically dumplings stuffed with slow cooked veal in a small amount of hot broth and served with a side of spicy carrot & garlic salad. It’s warming and filling. I would drink a small shot of Patrón Reposado between every 4 – 5 dumplings with a spicy carrot-mango sangrita chaser.

What’s a favorite wintertime tradition where you live? Where you’re originally from?
We celebrate New Year twice — first on January 1^st and again on January 14^th! It’s called the ​“Old New Year.” Basically, in the 1700s, Russia adopted the same calendar the rest of Europe was using, but it was 14 days behind the original one. This created an opportunity to double down on some holiday drinking for many people. New Year’s is one of the brightest examples of that tradition living on today. Happy Old New Year!

How do you embrace winter?
Winter sports are a big one. I could snowboard every day of my life if that was possible. There’s usually perfect weather in Las Vegas for hiking, or it’s a great excuse to visit some beach destinations. Winter is the best season in the desert in my opinion.

How do you avoid winter?
I have lived in some ​“brutal” winter areas and spent plenty of days outside in ‑30 – 40C range. I don’t avoid it. It can be fun if you have some tolerance built up and know how to drive the car safely in winter weather.

What are you watching in your wintertime movie marathon? What are you drinking?
Movie marathoning is largely over once you have kids. However, ​“Don’t Look Up” is a brilliant movie. If this was a series, I’d definitely watch it late, late, late at night. While I don’t drink many cocktails late, I do drink 4 – 5 cups of tea a day.

Do you drink for the weather you have, or for the weather you wish you had?
Weather doesn’t really define my drink choices. It’s about 70F in my house winter or summer. But if I am outside grilling and the temps are warm, I am reaching for a mojito.

Steph Teslar | Manager of Trade Education & Mixology, East Region


What’s your go-to cocktail this winter? Does it have an ideal snack pairing?
I am currently obsessed with our Sherry Cask Aged Añejo and sherry in general so I’ll definitely be sipping Aurelia’s Melody by a fire this season. I’ll likely pair it with something somewhat salty, like a homemade roasted almonds with olive oil, sea salt, and spicy curry powder or chili flakes.

Aurelia’s Melody
By Scott Jenkins

Ingredients:

2 oz Patrón Sherry Cask Añejo

.375 oz Lustau blanco vermouth

.375 oz chamomile/​golden raisin-infused honey syrup

.375 oz manzanilla sherry

Lemon peel, for garnish

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass, stir with ice to chill. Strain into a rocks glass, over a large ice cube. Express the lemon zest over the surface of the drink, then garnish with peel resting on the ice cube.

For the Chamomile/​Golden Raisin Honey Syrup:

Combine 600g honey, 400g filtered water, 16g of dried chamomile flowers, 150g golden raisins into a blender, and blend thoroughly. Double strain through a coarse and fine chinois, and pass once more through a fine filter. Refrigerate after use.


What’s a favorite wintertime tradition where you live? Where you’re originally from?
Currently I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the favorite winter pastime is looking out the window and wishing it was cold enough for snow but then getting cool rain. (But, hey, it’s what keeps us green all year round!) We’ll likely have served some Carolina style vinegar-based BBQ for our holiday dinner as well and head to the White Water Center for some ice skating before it warms up. Originally, I’d spend every winter flying to Arizona to see the other half of my family and enjoy winter in 70 degree weather by the pool with my sisters.


How do you embrace winter?
I don’t know if I’d say I embrace it, but I would say that I ​“learn to appreciate it” by doing things like snowboarding and cold weather hiking and camping. There’s nothing like a campfire when there’s a light snowfall on the ground.


How do you avoid winter?
I think I’ve done a great job at this by living in Arizona, Mexico, Texas, Florida and now North Carolina. Enough said!


What are you watching in your wintertime movie marathon? What are you drinking?
I’m horrible at watching movies at home so I’ll probably make an effort to safely go to a theatre to see one of the big blockbuster holiday movies that come out this winter. Other than that, our family favorite movie is Aliens so that will get watched at least a few times before spring. I’ll likely be drinking something involving Sherry Cask Aged Añejo or sipping on some lower ABV Sherry cocktails.


Do you drink for the weather you have, or for the weather you wish you had?
I drink what I’m in the mood for first and foremost, but considering my cold weather days in winter are limited to only a select few, I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to enjoy a hot drink or two when the temperatures drop!

Stephen Halpin | Manager of Trade Education & Mixology, Central Region



What’s your go-to cocktail this winter? Does it have an ideal snack pairing?
For me, it’s got to be something that warms you to your bones. In my opinion, a twist on a classic toddy like the Touchdown Toddy is just perfect. I’d also go for a soup to help warm up. You have to try a Dublin Coddle (a take on Irish potato and sausage stew) — it’s the most comforting of comfort foods if I’m a little homesick.


What’s a favorite wintertime tradition where you live?
I’m originally from Dublin, Ireland and if there is one thing we know how to do well, it’s find a reason to have a drink at every celebration. Nothing demonstrates this better than the ​“12 Pubs of Christmas.” I miss this tradition (a bar crawl with friends and family) so bad when I don’t get to be home for the holidays. It’s always a great night and a great way to get a good group together.


How do you embrace winter?
Texas doesn’t really help you embrace winter. It can be in the 80s one day and the 30s the next. When I’m ready for it, I usually have to travel to fully embrace the winter, and snowboarding is the perfect way to do it. My favorite places to go are Jackson Hole, Beaver Creek and Winter Park.


How do you avoid winter?
I would never. I just need to be dressed appropriately for it and I’m good to go.


What are you watching in your wintertime movie marathon? What are you drinking?
Die Hard. I don’t care if it’s not a ​“holiday movie” by most standards. It’s set during the winter so it counts for me! If you want to make it even more fun, make yourself a Classic Patrón Margarita and take a drink whenever someone says, ​“McClane” or ​“Nakatomi,” whenever there’s a reference to Christmas, when McClane talks about being a cop, or when someone dies.


Do you drink for the weather you have, or for the weather you wish you had?
You gotta drink for the weather you have, and in Texas you never know how that will go. Maybe you’re sipping Patrón Palomas on the patio or sipping a Sherry Cask Old Fashioned by the fire pit. Either way, you’re doing it right.

David Alan | Director Trade Advocacy


What’s a favorite wintertime tradition where you live? Where you’re originally from?
I have lived my whole life in Austin TX, with the exception of a few years in Houston, where the weather is even warmer than it is in Austin. Some years we don’t get a single freezing day, most years we get a few. And only like every 5 – 6 years do we get enough of a cold snap as to produce snow or ice — when those days come, the whole city shuts down and we celebrate!


How do you embrace winter?
We have an outdoor fireplace and are obsessive about stockpiling firewood for the ​“season”. As soon as the temperature drops (even if it is into the 70s!), we are ready to have a campfire. We also do a lot of outdoor cooking — year round, but especially in the winter when it is nice out.


How do you avoid winter?
Because I live in such a moderate climate, we actually have to chase winter! I always make a point of traveling to somewhere with proper winter weather, usually by heading to Colorado at least once a season to go skiing.


What are you watching in your wintertime movie marathon?
I re-discovered television and specifically binge-watching shows during the pandemic lockdown. Before that I was really too busy traveling for work to invest the necessary time into watching and understanding a television show. No more! Now I am happy to say that I can watch 4 – 6 episodes in a row of some of our favorite programs, so if there is a cold snap that pushes us back indoors, I am ready and willing with the Roku remote.


Do you drink for the weather you have, or for the weather you wish you had?
We have a year-round menu at our house: Margaritas and martinis, with the occasional tropical treasure thrown in when we are in the mood. There are a few incredible micro-micro-climate moments such as when our little Kalamansi tree produces enough fruit for a couple rounds of Daiquiris. We also have an abundant harvest of Meyer Lemons every year in the late fall through early spring, those end up in lots of cocktails. The tree took a beating and froze completely to the ground in last year’s February Snowpocalypse. It started to recover and has blossoms on it now, so we are optimistic for a lemony future.

How do you winter?

Make sure to follow us on Instagram @Academia_Patron and tag us in any of your favorite winter moments where you think we’d most likely show up. Whether that’s in a Patrón Añejo Hot Toddy, or a summer-hopeful Margarita, we’re eager to share those times with you! Enjoy the cold, warm, or hybrid winter, wherever you are!