If you're not able to stay warm by sitting in a hot tub or next to a roaring fire pit, filling your belly with a warm cocktail on a cold winter night at Tahoe might be the next best thing. These various seasonal cocktails at bars and restaurants around the Tahoe area use either hot coffee and chocolate or other warming concoctions to keep away the 40-below temps.

"Fireside Drinks" at the Hyatt Regency's Lone Eagle Grille

The beautiful Lone Eagle Grille at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village has a fire pit that looks out over the ice blue water of Lake Tahoe. You can stay even warmer by that fire with their selection of hot cocktails. The Captain's Prayer has Starbucks coffee, Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Frangelico and whipped cream. The Frost Bite has hot chocolate, Rumplemintz, Kahlua and Baileys and the By The Fire is a wonderful mixture of hot apple cider, dark rum, Tuaca and Whipped Cream.

Coffee, chocolate and pine cones at Northstar

The crafted hot chocolate and coffee drinks at the Living Room restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton include the Almond Joy with Seven Tiki Spiced Rum, amaretto liqueur, Malibu Rum hot chocolate and whipped cream, or the Good Medicine with Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Tia Maria Coffee Liqueur hot coffee, hot chocolate and whipped cream. If you want to skip the alcohol, add in some pine cones instead. The Living Room features chocolate drinks with chocolate flavored pine cones stirred into the hot milk. This winter the Ritz is also featuring Blue Bottle Coffee's premium roast coffee in the Living Room and in the new Café Blue coffee shop. This is the first time Blue Bottle Coffee Company has permitted its signature freshly roasted coffee to be served at a hotel property.

If you want to keep your cocktails warm, but free of caffeine, try the $12 African Winter at the Z Bar in the on-mountain Zephyr Lodge. This amazing drink has dark rum, hot African tea, peach liqueur, lemon and orange bitters. If you need it spicy, rather than sweet, head to the Chocolate Bar in the Village and get the D-Tini with jalapeño vodka, fresh jalapeños, olive juice and lime juice.

Mull it over at the 968 Park Hotel

The pub at the 968 Park Hotel in South Lake Tahoe serves Gluhwei hot mulled wine for only $5. If you want to enjoy their other drinks like the Pumpkin Latte or Salted Caramel Latte their daily Happy Hour is daily from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. On Wednesday nights, all women receive 1/2 off glasses of wine and 20 percent off bottles of wine.