A Hot Toddy For Lockdown Blues
Here’s just what the doctor ordered on a cold winter’s night! A typical Hot Toddy is a mixed drink made of liquor with water, honey, herbs and spices and is usually served hot. Hot toddy recipes vary and are traditionally drunk before retiring for the night, in wet or cold weather or to relieve the symptoms of the cold and flu. In How to Drink, Victoria Moore describes the drink as "the vitamin C for health, the honey to soothe, the alcohol to numb.
This recipe, using Spirit of Ilmington Apple Brandy will chase the blues away…
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 fl oz (60 ml) of Spirit of Ilmington apple brandy
- 5 fl oz (150 ml) apple cider (hot, or enough to fill)
- Garnish: lemon wedge
- Garnish: cinnamon stick
- Garnish: 2 to 3 cloves (whole)
Directions
- Heat up the apple cider and warm up an Irish coffee glass or mug.
- apple cider in a small pot
- Coat the bottom of the glass with honey and add the apple brandy.
- Fill with hot apple cider. Stir well.
- Garnish with the lemon wedge, cinnamon stick, and cloves.
Serve and enjoy!
Top Tip
Apple cider can be gently warmed in a saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave. You want it nice and steamy, but not too hot so it burns your tongue or ruins the liquor's flavour.Warming up the glass or mug ensures your toddy stays warm longer. To do so, simply fill it hot water while you heat up the cider or put a water-filled glass in the microwave for 5 or 10 seconds. Dump out the water before mixing the drink.
Recipe Variation
A classic recipe, you might also enjoy the hot baked apple toddy. It comes from "The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book," which was first published in 1934 and is a treasure trove of classic cocktail recipes. This toddy gets the apple flavor by pairing a freshly baked apple with the apple brandy is a fine substitute as well. While there's no need for cider, you can certainly use it if you like.
To make this toddy, place one-quarter of a baked apple in the bottom of a warm Irish coffee glass. Coat it with 1 teaspoon honey and add 2 ounces of apple whiskey. Stir the mix, fill the glass with hot water, then stir again. Garnish it with a cinnamon stick to give the flavour a little more depth.