In my area of Pennsylvania there is a traditional winter drink that is produced by local residents call BOILO...

It is the kind of drink that can soothe a winter cold, take the chillout of your bones after shovelling snow, or get you REALLY F'ed up if you're not careful...

Everyone has their own recipe and there are even contests for it. So here's my recipe... Try it, especially if you're not from Pa and have never heard of it...

INGREDIENTS:
1 can of ginger ale
12 ounces apple juice
4 oranges
2 lemons
1 lime
24oz honey
4 cinnamon sticks
handful of raisins
handful of sugar
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon of cloves
1 Fifth of whiskey (cheap stuff, Jack Daniels or even moonshine will work)

Use a large covered crockpot... not TOO hot!

Pour in ginger ale and apple juice, cinnamon sticks, raisins, sugar, caraway and cloves.

Peel oranges, lemons and lime. Cut into small pieces and squeeze juice into crockpot. Then throw the pulp into the crockpot, also.

Add honey and stir...

Allow to brew for about 4 hours

Add your whiskey and simmer for about 30 minutes, covered.

Squeeze the mixture through a strainer into a pitcher... You can drink this right now! It is made to be consumed warm, the pulp will give it body...

But here's where you can become one of the Boilo elite. Let the mixture settle overnight. The pulp will settle to the bottom. Carefully pour off the yellowish/clear part on top into bottles (the yellow/clear part is the desired finished product). Re-strain the pulpy part thru a metal coffee filter. Do this a few times.

You can drink the pulpy part for a heavier, more relaxing drink. And keep the refined part to serve to friends and family.

Once you get used to it, it will no doubt become a winter tradition. You will come up with your own variations of it (don't stray too far or Boilo traditionalists will burn as a heretic!)...

No matter where you live, you can enjoy a hidden secret of Pennsylvania's "Coal Country"

Enjoy!