‘Hot drink popular in the fall’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

Do you enjoy consuming hot beverages during the autumn season? Today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue, “Hot drink popular in the fall,” requires you to know about hot seasonal drinks, which are served during the cold months and help lower blood sugar levels and manage diabetes.

If today’s NYT Mini Crossword clues have you second-guessing your answers, you can use our hints and answers to clear up your confusion and help you easily solve the puzzle.

‘Hot drink popular in the fall’ NYT Oct. 23 Mini Crossword hints and answer

• Hint 1: The answer is a drink that can be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, depending on the fermentation process.
• Hint 2: The five-letter solution is made from apples and enjoyed especially during cooler weather.
• Hint 3: It starts with the letter “C.”
• Hint 4: The solution is often garnished with cinnamon sticks or orange slices. 

Let’s jump in and reveal the answer.

The answer to six across in the Oct. 23 New York Times Mini Crossword is “CIDER.” The clue “hot and freshly prepared drink during the autumn season” referred to the iconic hot apple cider, a classic fall beverage. Cider is made from apples usually harvested during the fall season. It’s often served warm during colder months in the fall, especially around harvest time and Halloween.

‘Hot drink popular in the fall’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating

There are a ton of hot beverages like hot chocolate or spiced tea that you can drink during the autumn season. However, the clues mention the fall season, which points to the apple cider drink, a seasonal beverage.

The drink has a strong cultural association with people in North America and parts of Europe during the fall when the spiced drink finds its place in family gatherings. However, if you’re unfamiliar with seasonal drinks, this clue is hard to solve. So, I’d give it a three out of five for difficulty. 

NYT Mini Crossword (Oct. 23) answers

Across

• 1A Spice that tastes like licorice — ANISE
• 6A Hot drink popular in the fall — CIDER
• 7A Bendy body parts — KNEES
• 8A Bird that, surprisingly, doesn’t have any blue pigments in its feathers — JAY
• 9A Apple pie ___ mode — ALA

Down

• 1D Cutesy cry of frustration — ACK
• 2D “Teenage Mutant ___ Turtles” — NINJA
• 3D Best possible — IDEAL
• 4D “Peace!” — SEE YA
• 5D Hospital areas in medical dramas, for short — ERS

How to play other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword

If the NYT Mini Crossword word games got you spinning, you can sharpen your word skills with the LA Times and Washington Post puzzles. You can also switch up the fun with Strands and Spelling Bee to learn new words every day.