The cinnamon stick is the winter garnish: a quill of bark stood in a Hot Toddy, a mug of mulled wine or an autumn Old Fashioned, where it is both the stirrer and a slow-release spice. Warmed or toasted it gives off its oil, and a drink with a stick in it tastes more of cinnamon with every minute; it is a garnish that keeps working.

What is a cinnamon stick garnish?

A quill of dried cinnamon bark — cassia, the thick, hard, strongly flavoured kind sold as cinnamon in most countries, or Ceylon, the thinner, softer, more delicate "true" cinnamon — three to four inches long, stood in a drink or laid across its rim. Cinnamon's aroma is in an oil that releases with heat and with time in liquid, so a stick in a hot drink flavours it quickly and a stick in a cold one slowly; a stick stirred through a mulled wine for an afternoon is an ingredient, and a stick on a cold Old Fashioned is a scent and a swizzle. Toasting or briefly flaming the end of the stick with a lighter before it goes in releases a burst of oil and a smoky note, and a cinnamon stick is also the tool for dusting a drink with cinnamon, grated on a microplane.

How to use it

Stand a stick in a hot drink — a toddy, a mulled wine, a hot cider — as it is served, so the drinker stirs with it; add one to the pot as well for the flavour. For a cold autumn drink, toast the end of the stick over a flame for a few seconds until it smokes and smells, and lay it across the glass or stand it in the ice. For a dusting, grate the stick on a microplane over a foam or a cream drink, like nutmeg. A stick can be reused in the same pot but not in the next drink. Cassia for a strong, sweet-hot cinnamon; Ceylon for a softer, more floral one.

What to use instead

A star anise, for an aniseed warmth in a mulled drink. A clove-studded orange slice, the toddy's other garnish. A grating of nutmeg, for the egg and cream drinks. Ground cinnamon on a foam, lightly. A cinnamon syrup in the drink, with no stick, for the flavour without the garnish. A dried orange wheel for the look.

Drinks with a cinnamon stick

The hot drinks: the Hot Toddy, Mulled Wine, the Hot Apple Cider Cocktail, Hot Buttered Rum and the Apple Cider Mocktail. The autumn drinks: the Cider House Old Fashioned, the Autumn Sour, the Harvest Moon and the Cranberry Rosemary Spritz. The rum drinks: Bumbo and the Zombie in some houses. The punches: Virgin Sangria and Cherry Bounce. Every drink garnished with a cinnamon stick is listed below.

Questions

Cassia or Ceylon? Cassia is the strong, common one; Ceylon is softer. Either works; cassia for a toddy.

Should I toast it? For a cold drink, yes — a few seconds over a flame releases the oil.

Does it flavour the drink? Quickly in a hot drink, slowly in a cold one; it is a garnish that keeps giving.

Can I reuse a stick? In the same pot; not in the next drink.

How long should a stick be? Three to four inches, long enough to stand above the rim of a mug and be used as a stirrer; cut a long quill with scissors.

Why does my mulled wine taste of nothing but cinnamon? Too many sticks for too long; one or two in the pot, added for the last twenty minutes, is plenty, with a fresh one in each mug.