The Recipe Room

A few years ago, I decided to join some friends who were working as ski instructors in Austria for a couple of weeks. I was actually on my way back from somewhere hot and wasn’t ready for the cold that hit me when I arrived in Lech. In order to warm myself up, I ran into a bar downtown and ordered a Hot Toddy. Luckily, the bartender was from Bolton and understood my request. He gave me a big smile and said, “There is nothing in the world that compares to a good Hot Toddy on a lousy day, is there lad?”

The Hot Toddy is usually known as a winter beverage made from a distilled spirit (whiskey or brandy preferably), sugar and water. It is believed to be very good for people who have the flu or are feeling under the weather. When I was growing up, sometimes my Dad would tell my Mum that he was not feeling very well. Her reply was always,“Shall I make you a Hot Toddy then, Love?”

As to where the name of the drink comes from, it has been suggested that the name comes from the Toddy drink in India produced by fermenting the sap of Palm trees. The term could have been introduced into Scotland by a member of the British East India Company. Another version says it is believed to have originated in 18th century Scotland as a mixed drink to make Scotch drinks more palatable to women. (This pink scotch drink may be pink, but it is delectable for men and women alike!)

Regardless of where it comes from, when I feel cold and somewhat miserable, a nice Hot Toddy always cheers me up.

Needed:

• 3 cl of brandy, whiskey or rum
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1/4 lemon
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tea bag of your favorite tea
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise

How my Mum used to make it:

1. Coat the bottom of a mug with the honey.
2. Add the liquor.
3. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon.
4. Heat the cup of water and add the tea bag to make hot tea.
5. Pour the hot tea into the mug and stir.
6. Garnish with the cinnamon sticks and anise.

If you’re not a tea drinker, you can substitute coffee or simply add only the hot water.

Time: between 3 and 5 minutes
Makes: 1 tea size mug

Tags: anise, brandy, cinnamon sticks, cocktail, honey, Hot Toddy, hot water, lemon, rum, tea, whiskey

This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 April, 2012 at 4:47 pm by Jeremy Larson and is filed under Less than 30 minutes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed RSS 2.0. You can leave a comment, or make a trackback from your own blog.