Is A Hot Toddy A Good Cold Remedy
Yes! Its the best cold remedy I know. The warmth of the drink & ingredients can really soothe your sore throat & cough symptoms. Plus whiskey is a pretty good decongestant, and it definitely helps take away the pain of a headache. *Im not a doctor and this is not an actual cure, but it does make me feel better!
This Hot Toddy Recipe has made an appearance at our house more than a handful of times this winter.
When you have a baby in daycare, you have to learn all the tricks to stay healthy. Sometimes when I feel so sick and disgusting and lazy, and the only words being exchanged at our house are bless you and leave me alone.
We have had a doozy of a cold and flu season this year and this drink has gotten me through! Once Henry is in bed for the night, its time for Mommy to feel better too!
This whiskey Hot Toddy Recipe is the only drink that gets me through a bad cold that and a nice bowl of soup. You understand. And on days we arent sick, I still crave this deliciously warm cocktail!
A Whiskey Hot Toddy Is A Great Winter Time Libation Especially When Its Cold And Dreary Its Also Very Soothing If Feeling Under The Weather
I have been feeling dead to the world but I thought I would share this Whiskey Hot Toddy with you because it made me feel better. I cant seem to catch a break after 4 weeks of a nonstop cough and sleepless nights I cant deny I was getting weary. So like Im sure all of you would do, dying be damned, I forced myself to get to the grocery store for cat food.
Our local grocery just happens to have a clinic inside of it when I walked by I decided to stop for some advice you know, thinking enough was enough? Well, the good news is that I am apparently not sick enough to be hospitalized but with the symptoms of pneunomia I have what is referred to as walking pneumonia.
I havent been sick like this in a very long time but really, no big surprise. After months and months of nonstop stress and exhaustion, this body of mine had nothing left for a fight. Damn you Airborne, you failed me when I needed you most!
So, Ive been relegated to actually acting sick and ordered to get some bed rest. Like lay in bed. I think they meant ALL DAY.
That is so hard, I have pictures to hang and recipes to make and, and, andand I guess I will listen because I want this scourge to be gone I tell ya!
I decided that I would try one of those home remedies to help relieve this cough one I made for a friend just recently to soothe her raw throat and dry hack, just an old wives tale mixture of bourbon, honey and lemon.
Cheers. And goodnight.
More Cozy Whiskey Drinks To Enjoy
Recipe adapted from my cinnamon maple whiskey sour and Bon Appetit.Recommended equipment: Measuring small quantities of liquids for cocktails is WAY easier with this stainless steel measuring jigger.*Wine notes: Look for wine descriptions that suggest notes of cherry/plum/berries, etc. and you should find a winner. I just wouldnt use a particularly spicy or dry red wine here. I used an organic 2014 cabernet sauvignon from Trader Joes labeled Rare Earth.
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Which Hot Toddy Ingredients Should I Use
Hot toddies contain fresh lemon juice, honey, boiling water, and usually whiskey, the original ingredient dating back to the 1700s. That said, you may use bourbon , brandy , or even rum .
Each ingredient plays a role in soothing a cold or flu:
- Hot water makes the drink hot, obviously, and according to a 2008 study , hot drinks can relieve runny nose, sore throat, sneezing and even fatigue.
- Honey has mild antibacterial properties and is known to soothe coughs and sore throats .
- Lemon contains antibacterial properties and is rich in vitamin C, which can help fight infections.
But what about the alcoholis that good for a cold?
Easy Hot Toddy For Cold And Cough
At this time of the year, it is very easy to pick up a cough or common cold anywhere you turn to, I make sure I have 2 things in my fridge and cabinet. A bottle of whiskey or brandy, then homemade cough mixture in the fridge for my girls . Both have similar ingredients apart from the alcohol added to ours.
Hot toddy drink is for the other adult human and I, while the non-alcoholic cough mixture is for the girls. There are so many variations to this easy hot toddy recipes, but I tend to stick with the classic and easy to find ingredients.
Do you know what else you can serve with this drink, my homemade chicken noodle soup? It will surely make you feel better!
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How To Make A Hot Toddy With Rum
You can make this drink with rum as well, and its simply a matter of substituting the whisky out for rum, though you can make some changes that take advantage of the different flavor of the rum. I would suggest using a spiced rum, like Captain Morgan, when you make the hot toddy.
Use about an ounce or an ounce and a half of rum, and then you can try it without the lemon or cinnamon stick for garnish and instead add a dash or two of cinnamon sugar for flavoring. This changes things up nicely, which is what I prefer when Im using a different alcohol base for the drink.
Once again, you can add more honey and lemon juice as you like to flavor the hot toddy to your preferences, making it sweeter or zestier as necessary.
Do Hot Toddies Really Work
Over the last few hundred years, the fact that this beverage is more popular than ever seems to say something about the fact that theres probably some good in sipping a hot toddy when experiencing a cold. The Smithsonian Magazine published an interesting article about hot toddies and quoted the Mayo Clinic as confirming that warm liquids can be soothing and help ease congestion, but cautioned about going overboard with the whisky.
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Other Hot Toddy Variationincludes
To make this winter cocktail perfect for the cold weather, you need to add some woody spices for perfect warmth. Not only do these spices have their own health benefits but they also say Christmas and holiday too.
Cinnamon sticks: I didnt add to this recipe, but it is a great addition.
Cloves
Black tea or green tea: swap hot water for any black tea of choice.
Swap honey for maple syrup, agave nectar or any other natural sweetener of choice
Use rye whiskey if having thisdrink cold
Whiskey is the most popular to use but you may also use brandy or rum
These above ingredients are optional but highly recommended for a full healing effect. You can have your cake and eat it with a hot toddy drink. The hot beverage heals your body and you enjoy the drink at the same time. Win-Win!
How To Make Our Favorite Hot Toddy
We make them often, especially during the colder months. Variations are endless, so think of this as a guide. When it comes to the best liquor for making hot toddies, we choose a dark rum or bourbon. Brandy or whisky work well, but a hot toddy with dark rum or bourbon are our favorite.
You can deviate from the honey and lemon, as well. Orange, grapefruit or Meyer lemon would be lovely. We love the floral sweetness of honey, but brown sugar, agave nectar or other sweeteners can be used.
Tea is a nice variation, too. Weve tried chamomile, ginger and even a black tea before. All were nice, but the black tea really stood out as a favorite especially with dark rum.
A tiny splash of apple cider vinegar is really nice. Adam came up with the idea after ordering a hot toddy in the city they mixed in a shrub, which is basically a fruit-and-vinegar syrup added to cocktails and sodas. The acid from the vinegar brings out all the flavors of the toddy without making it taste too sweet.
Since we dont make our own shrubs at home , we thought adding a little splash of apple cider vinegar just might work. It did. So well in fact that we think you should try it yourself.
Make two hot toddies, one with vinegar and the other without. Then taste the difference. Im betting youll prefer the one with vinegar.
Another thing to consider is to buy a shrub and add that we like Pok Poks shrubs a lot. Others suggest Inna Shrub and The Hudson Standard Shrub they are all really well reviewed.
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Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour
When presented with a cocktail menu, I just cant help but order a whiskey drink. An Old Fashioned, Manhattan, a well-made whiskey sour or any spin on the above. Im a whiskey girl. Always have been, always will be.
Naturally, when I spied the cinnamon maple sour on the menu at a local bar the other day, I had to order it. I liked it so much that I had to recreate it at home.
This whiskey sour recipe is sweetened with maple syrup, which tastes so much more interesting than basic simple syrup. The recipe includes plenty of fresh lemon juice and a hefty pinch of ground cinnamon, which offers some warming flavor for cold winter days. You can skip the cinnamon, though, if you would like a classic whiskey sour.
This is my last post before I take off for the holidays. Be merry and be safe! I appreciate you all so much for hanging out with me here and cooking my recipes in your kitchens.
How To Make A Hot Toddy Step By Step
First, start boiling the water.
Meanwhile, in your mug, add your sweetener of choice. You can always add a little more later, but you cant take any out so err on the side of caution.
Add the boiling water to the mug, being sure to leave enough headroom to add your liquor. Vigorously stir with a spoon to dissolve the sweetener.
You can now begin steeping your tea. You can also add any hearty aromatics like cinnamon sticks or star anise.
For black teas, a good rule of thumb is to steep for about 3 minutes. Less time will yield a weaker tea but much longer than 4-5 minutes and the tea will start to become bitter and astringent. For herbals teas, you cant really over steep, so just steep it to your preferred strength.
When the tea is done steeping, remove the teabag and discard.
Now you can add your acid , bitters if using, oat milk if desired, and more delicate aromatics like ginger peels or thyme springs.
We like to add the liquor to our hot toddies last. The reason is if we added it first, the boiling water would start to evaporate away some of the alcohol. We have no idea how much, but we paid for full-strength whiskey and were not prepared to lose any of it to the atmosphere!
With the desired amount of liquor added, you just need to give it one final stir to make sure everything is well mixed, and youre ready to start relaxing!
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Irish Whiskey Hot Toddy Recipe
Ingredients
- A good Irish whiskey
- A heat-proof glass
Method
Fill a kettle to boil hot water.
To pre-heat your glass, place a metal spoon in the glass and pour some hot water in. The spoon will prevent the glass from breaking! Once the glass is warmed, dump out the water.
Cut a slice of lemon, remove the pips, and stick some cloves into the fruit.
Put a teaspoon of sugar into the glass followed by a shot of Irish whiskey. Give the whiskey and sugar mixture a bit of a stir and try to dissolve the lumps.
Add boiling water and then stir.
Add the lemon and additional cloves to the mix.
Wrap a wee’ napkin around the glass, so you dont scald yourself.
Slainte!
You Cant Go Wrong With Any Of These Whiskeys For Your Hot Toddy
Every whiskey on this list makes a great hot toddy.
Some will be sweeter, some spicer. Some will be more expensive, some affordable.
But regardless of which you choose, you cant go wrong.
The important thing is to enjoy your exceptional hot toddy.
And now that you have a great whiskey picked out, you can make sure your recipe is just as great.
Heather has some incredible ones that you can choose from:
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Benefits Of Drinking A Hot Toddy:
- Whiskey is a great decongestant, and it helps soothe any pain associated with your head cold.
- Hot liquids of any kind are a good way to soothe a sore throat.
- Honey and lemon help soothe a cough and any congestion.
- Ginger is an optional ingredient, but it REALLY helps with cold symptoms.
Being sick is no excuse for not enjoying yourself! In fact, this is a comforting cocktail whether or not youre stricken with the winter cold and flu blues. We dont discriminate. This Hot Toddy is sure to comfort anyone and everyone .
Does Whiskey Help A Cough
In the 19th and early 20th century, alcohol was popularly used as medicine: Many historic cocktails were invented by apothecaries! Its likely that the alcohol content in the hot toddy derives from that traditional use.
Today, whiskey or bourbon is added to a toddy to relax the drinker, and to encourage a drowsy state for sleep. Since most coughing fits can intensify at night, its helpful to feel relaxed and drowsy to help you drop off rather than stay up tossing and turning . Dig deeper into the science behind the hot toddy.
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What Is A Hot Toddy
A hot toddy, or hot tottie, is an alcoholic drink that combines hot water, honey, lemon juice and whiskey or bourbon. Hot toddies are commonly garnished with fresh lemon and a cinnamon stick. Every now and then Ill add in a little anise star to spice things up! This cozy cocktail makes the perfect night cap or happy hour drink.
Its also great for sore throats when you have a cold. And since cold season is upon us, this is a good recipe to have on hand.
History Of The Hot Toddy
I did a little digging after looking up the recipe in two of my Scottish cookbooks, and discovered that there are several theories about the hot toddys creation and name. One is that 18th century Scottish doctors prescribed them so that it would cover up the strong taste of raw whisky, which was apparently much more rough back then.
Another possibility is reported from Ross Dennis, a drinks expert, The first mention of what we now think of as a hot toddy comes about in the 1780s. We think the name hot toddy comes from the Todian Well, an ancient water source in Edinburgh.The Scotsman.
NB: Whisky, without an e, is how to spell Scotch whisky, whilst whiskey, with the e, is for most others. So do use a whisky! 🙂
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Tips & Tricks For The Perfect Hot Toddy
- This drink is also excellent with hot cider if you want some more bite and a more sour taste.
- Use fresh lemon juice if you have it. It just tastes better than the stuff you get in the bottle.
- When pouring the hot water into your glass, do so over a spoon to prevent the glass from cracking.
- Avoid peated scotch for this particular drink, something smoother is probably better .
- Drink one on January 11 to celebrate National Hot Toddy Day!
However you enjoy yours, whether it’s sitting in front of the campfire, curled up in bed or trying to recover from a cold.. I hope you enjoy!
Here are some other great cocktails to try:
How To Make A Whisky Hot Toddy
Now that winter is here, its time for a whisky hot toddy whether youre feeling under the weather or youre simply after a winter warmer.
A hot toddy consists of alcohol mixed with hot water, lemon, honey or sugar and spices. Whisky is commonly used, ranging from a blended whisky to a heavily peated single malt which gives extra oomph to a smoky hot toddy. You can also substitute rum, bourbon, brandy or mezcal if whisky is not your tipple of choice.
If you can make a cup of tea, you can make a hot toddy and the recipe is very easy to follow even when youre not feeling your best. Heres how to make a whisky hot toddy, a comforting drink and the antidote to winter months.
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Hot Toddy For Coughing
If you find yourself searching Hot Toddy For CoughIm here for you. This cocktail a day keeps the doctor away. Or at least makes the time until you can see a doctor a little more enjoyable.
Cold and Flu season is such a mess and such a drain on families. This hot toddy wont cure anything , but I know it can lift some spirits while soothing your throat.
Guaranteed to help with coughs and sore throats. Whiskey is good like that! If you need a hot sip of something soothing on a cold day, this recipe is your ticket. GO AWAY Cold and Flu Season!