Hot Toddy Recipe | Four Ways To Make A Hot Toddy

Hot Toddy Recipe will cure what ails you. Today is National Hot Toddy Day, and it’s also cold and flu season, so what better way to celebrate than to share Jamie’s well tested and delicious hot toddy recipe, along with three variations so you can find a hot toddy recipe that will fit your needs.

I used to make my own version of a hot toddy, which I cleverly named Whis-tea. It included a ton of sugar because I couldn’t afford honey and mostly I just wanted to drink with my friends while I was sick. Don’t be 22-year-old me – buy the honey, follow a recipe, and just drink one.

Why The Hot Toddy Works

The hot toddy is not just an old wife’s tale. A hot toddy actually can work to ease some cold symptoms. Honey reduces cough and is an antioxidant. Lemon is a great source of Vitamin C. Steam from the hot water relieves congestion. The alcohol and the caffeine both can open up constricted blood vessels and relieve sinus pressure. Caffeine also increases the effectiveness of over-the-counter pain relievers if you happen to be taking something for your cold. (Pain relievers are included in most over-the-counter sinus medications.)

To put the caffeine in perspective: the caffeine in a standard 8oz cup of black tea is around 50 mg. This is about a third of what you get in a small 12oz cup of coffee (144mg). It’s a quarter of the amount in one dose of Excedrin headache medicine (200mg). If you don’t want the caffeine or are extremely sensitive to it, use decaf tea or just hot water.

Hot Toddy Recipe

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 black teabag
• 8 oz hot water
• 2 Tbsp honey (or more to taste)
• 2 oz whiskey (one small bottle)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. Steep tea per package directions.
2. Add honey, stir until dissolved.
3. Add whiskey and lemon. Stir and serve.

Variations

Ginger Hot Toddy: Same as above, except add 1/2 inch ginger, sliced, to 12oz water in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Remove ginger and use 8oz of ginger water to steep tea. Ginger will help soothe an upset stomach.

Peppermint Hot Toddy: Same as above, except substitute peppermint tea for black tea. Peppermint helps clear sinus passages and can also soothe an upset stomach.

Cayenne Hot Toddy: Same as above, except add two  dashes cayenne pepper to recipe. Cayenne is an anti-irritant and will help to soothe a sore throat.