Hot Port

A warming Irish winter drink of heated port wine with cloves and lemon, traditionally served in pubs during cold months as an alternative to hot whiskey.

Hot Port is a specifically Irish pub tradition combining port wine — the fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal — with the same clove-studded lemon slice, brown sugar, and hot water preparation used in the Hot Whiskey, offering a sweeter, fruitier, wine-based alternative for those who prefer fortified wine to distilled spirits. Port wine has been exported to Ireland from Portugal since at least the 18th century, when the Anglo-Portuguese commercial relationship established by the Methuen Treaty of 1703 made Portuguese wine significantly cheaper in British and Irish markets than French wine. Ireland and Britain developed strong port-drinking cultures as a result, and port found its way into Irish pub culture as both a straight drink and a mixed preparation. Ruby port — the youngest, most fruit-forward style of port, with its characteristic deep red color from the Touriga Nacional and other Douro red grape varieties — is the standard choice for Hot Port, its preserved-fruit sweetness complementing the hot water, lemon, and brown sugar framework. The preparation mirrors the Hot Whiskey precisely, with port substituted for the Irish whiskey.