Recipe from Dan Budd, Taste Budds, Red Hook, New York.

In addition to fur hats and thick wool coats, Russians depend on warming spices in their food to help generate inner body heat and comfort throughout the nastiest of winters. The ancient formulas for zbiten, spiked tea with aromatic spices and nurturing herbs, provided inspiration to Dan Budd, the man at the helm of taste Budds, an artisan enterprise dedicated to the production of fine chocolate and chocolate desserts. His contribution to hot chocolate - a restorative with an entirely new personality - is a rich mouthful of chocolate that gets its spellbinding complexity from chai-like spices. For authenticity, serve it in tall Russian coffee glasses.

2 ounces fresh, peeled, sliced ginger
2 cinnamon quills
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 whole cloves
1 pinch ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
6 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
4 tablespoons vodka
cinnamon

4 small mint sprigs for serving

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the sliced ginger, the cinnamon quills, ground cinnamon, whole cloves, ground cloves, nutmeg and bay leaves. Add 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for 8 minutes.

Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.

Add the chopped mint leaves, honey, sugar, salt, 1/2 cup of the cream, and the milk to the saucepan. Return to medium-low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon as the mixture comes to a boil. boil for 10 seconds, then immediately strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve onto the chocolate. Whisk slowly until all of the chocolate has melted and is thoroughly incorporated. An immersion blender can be used to smooth the beverage more easily.

In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream with the confectioner's sugar until it forms very soft peaks. Using a soup spoon, place a generous scoop of whipped cream in the bottom of each of 4 mugs. Add 1 tablespoon vodka on top of the cream. Pour the chocolate into the mugs until the whipped cream rises slightly above the rim. Sift a dash of cinnamon on top and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.