Easy Hot Toddy Warms All Your Toes
If youre feeling under the weather, or just need a warm comforting tipple, this easy hot toddy is your cold cure for what ails you. Growing up near Louisville, Kentucky, I learned early on the powerful healing benefits of a hot toddy. That little bit of citrus, the soothing taste of the honey, and the warm aroma of the whiskey make me feel better when I have a cold just by thinking about it.
How To Make A Hot Toddy
Heres how to make this cozy and warming drink.
- Steep the ginger. Pour the boiling water into a mug. Add ginger and honey. Stir to dissolve the honey, then allow to steep for 10 minutes.
- Add the bourbon. Stir in the bourbon and lemon juice. Remove the ginger and add the lemon wheel and cinnamon stick garnishes if desired. Enjoy.
Benefits Of Hot Toddy
Lemons and Oranges: They are an excellent source of vitamin C, soluble fibers, and plant compounds, all of which can provide health benefits.
Unlike animals, humans do not produce their own vitamin C. We need to take in a sufficient amount of vitamin C to keep our immune system running properly. The stress of illness requires an even higher amount of vitamin C. Vitamin C is anti-viral and anti-bacterial
Black Tea: Tea is high in polyphenols, a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants have proven health benefits to cardiovascular health.
Quercetin is a plant pigment and antioxidant with anti-viral properties found in tea, red wine, onions, apples, and berries. Taking quercetin with zinc helps push the zinc into the center of the cell where the zinc can stop the virus from reproducing.
Black tea contains an amino acid called l-theanine, unique to tea and has interesting effects on the brain. L-theanine increases alpha brain waves inducing a calm and deeply relaxed state. Combined with the caffeine, which is about half the amount found in coffee, the overall effect is a focused calm.
Honey: Studies have found honey to contain an antimicrobial peptide called bee defensin-1. The World Health Organization recommends honey to treat coughs and sore throats.
Clove: Clove is used for upset stomach and as an expectorant. Expectorants make it easier to cough up phlegm.
Dr. Weil’s food pyramid also includes 2-4 cups of tea daily. That’s why I love Dr. Weil!
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The Best Hot Toddy Tea Recipe
by Paromita Dattalast updated – August 10, 2020 Evidence Based
When it is cold outside and you want a little warmth to light up your soul, there is nothing better than a hot toddy tea. Spicy, sweet, and laced with a fair bit of alcohol, it is a drink that is known to give your spirits a boost. It is also surprisingly flexible. You can play with the ingredients, switch the type of alcohol, or play with the proportions.
Will A Hot Toddy Really Cure Your Cold And Cough
I cant verify that this drink actually cures a cold. I think colds just need to run their course.
But, the good news is, that yes, a hot toddy can help alleviate cold symptoms. Its not just an old wives tale theres been actual research into the healing properties of a hot toddy. And it simply offers comfort, much like a steaming bowl of ginger chicken soup.
Basically, whiskey helps alleviate symptoms overall not a big surprise, as Im a fan of Nyquil when I have a cold, and that contains a bit of alcohol. And the hot water and lemon juice help with decongestion, while honey can help soothe a sore throat. So when Im feeling a bit under the weather, sipping on this warm drink definitely helps me feel better.
*One important thing to note alcohol and cold medicine, even over-the-counter cold medicines, should not be mixed. So if youre taking medicine, enjoy your hot toddy without the bourbon.
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More Cocktails To Love
For another warming whiskey drink, make my Irish Coffee recipe! If youre looking for more holiday-friendly whiskey drinks, dont miss my Maple New York Sour or Cinnamon-Maple Whiskey Sour.
Here are a few more of my favorite classic cocktails: Moscow Mules, French 75s, Best Red Sangria, Mimosas, and Fresh Margaritas.
Please let me know how this hot toddy recipe turns out for you in the comments! I really love hearing from you, and your feedback is so important to me.
Are Hot Toddies Good For A Cold
Some people feel that sipping a classic hot toddy helps when they have cold symptoms.
This hot toddy recipe doesn’t have any magic healing powers. Instead, the hot tea is a bit like chicken soup. It helps replace fluids and the warmth makes you feel better.
Honey may help soothe a sore throat or a bad cough. And lemon has vitamin C.
Plus, its alcohol content or using a herbal tea like chamomile may help with sleep.
Also, Im not a medical professional. Please use this medical advice at your discretion.
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Tips For Making Hot Toddies
- If you want to reduce the amount of caffeine, steep the tea bag in hot water for 30 seconds, dump the water out, and then resume steeping. This reduces the caffeine by roughly half.
- Everyone online photographs their hot toddies in glass mugs because they want to showcase the color of the drink, but if youre camping, you want to use an insulated mug to keep your drink warm for as long as possible.
- Be sure to thoroughly stir in your sweeteners. Nobody wants a big glob of honey or grainy sugar at the bottom. It takes at least 10 seconds of vigorous stirring to fully dissolve most sweeteners.
An Easy & Cozy Hot Toddy Recipe
When the weather starts getting colder, you need a few hot cocktail recipes in your back pocket. Put this hot toddy at the top of your list! I love making this drink when I need something a little stronger than hot chocolate.
This hydrating hot toddy cocktail is ideal for the colder months when the air is drier. Its perfect for relaxation and wonderfully balanced between tart and sweet. Youll want to sip on this cocktail all year long!
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How To Make An Easy Hot Toddy Recipe With Tea
Published: by · I independently review every recommendation. May contain affiliate links.
Ahot toddy with tea is a simple natural remedy for warming up and easing mild cold symptoms. It’s not a cure, but this sweet and aromatic hot toddy will undoubtedly help you feel warm and well!
The cold winter nights are here again, and all I want to do is curl up and enjoy some coziness by the fire with a nice cup of hot tea, a great book, or a whole lot of Netflix.
Winter is the perfect time to hibernate and experiment in the kitchen. And a hot toddy with tea is the ideal drink to warm you when all you want is to feel cozy and well.
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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Wonderful Way To Welcome Guests
I always put a pan of this hot toddy mixture on to warm up when I am expecting guests, and it never fails to greet them with a welcoming scent. You can make this hot toddy mixture up in advance and keep it in a jug in fact, the flavour is improved if the mixture is allowed to infuse for a while, use warm, not hot, water to help with the infusing. You can add extra spices if you want to, I’ve found that something like star anise goes really well in this toddy, or you can pep it up by adding more cloves and maybe even a little orange water.
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!
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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!
Hot Toddies For Coughs & Colds
Hot toddies are reported to help reduce cold symptoms, although you really dont want to overdo it on the whiskey. Your body needs to heal, and the simple combination of warm water, honey and lemon combined can work wonders.
Alcohol doesnt mix well with over-the-counter and prescription medications. So, no hot toddies for you if youre taking medicine! Nurse yourself back to health with everything but the whiskey.
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Easy Hot Toddy Recipe
Easy Hot toddy recipe! A classic alcoholic hot beverage perfect to combat cold, cough and sore throat or just to sip on a cold evening. My simple hot toddy for cold is made from whiskey , honey, hot water, lemon and two other ingredients.
Stay with me and I will show you how to make the perfect hot toddy recipe for the common cold.
What’s In A Hot Toddy
In Old Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide, the classic hot toddy is made by dissolving a lump of sugar in a bit of water. Add liquor, hot water, and stir with clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon peel.
For the liquor, you can use brandy, gin, or whiskey. A hot rum toddy is also very popular. These are the basics and then you can blend it any way we want from there.
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Does A Hot Toddy Help You Sleep
The alcohol in a hot toddy can have a relaxing effect and help you ultimately fall asleep. But that effect could be minimized if you have made your hot toddy with high-caffeine tea such as a black tea or green tea, so if you’re looking for a good night’s sleep try the mint hot toddy or ginger hot toddy recipes above.
As an alcohol-paired drink, there can also be such a thing as too many toddies. Too much can disrupt your normal sleep pattern. Since you are trying to stay healthy and get a good night’s rest, keep it to one and reap the benefit of getting the rest you need.
How Strong Is The Hot Toddy
The hot toddy is not one of those drinks that you down simply to get drunk. It is more of an experience and a way to relax, so its alcohol content may be irrelevant for the most part. However, for the curious drinker, you can expect it to weigh in around 6 percent ABV . That’s about the same as a high-point beer.
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How To Make The Best Hot Toddy
The secret to making the best hot toddy is simplejust tinker with the amount of lemon juice and honey until it suits your taste buds. Ive provided some guidelines in the recipe below. I think youll be surprised by how much an extra teaspoon of lemon juice or honey changes the flavor.
If you order a hot toddy at a bar, youll probably receive a whiskey drink. Any good whiskey will doIve enjoyed hot toddies made with Bulleit Rye, Jameson, and Wisers.
If you prefer, you can make your hot toddy with dark rum or brandy. Youll find more ways to change up the drink in my recipe notes.
What Is Hot Toddy Tea
A hot toddy tea is an adaptation of the classic hot toddy cocktail where hot tea is added to alcohol. Like many things quintessentially British, the origins of the hot toddy tea lie in its colonial past, or to be geographically correct, in India. The word toddy was used for fermented flower sap from a coconut palm. Many toddy makers used hot water, sugar, and spices to make their brew. Unsurprisingly, this is pretty much the recipe for a hot toddy, alcohol, honey, and warm water. The spices used in the tea also came from the former British colonies, India, and Sri Lanka.
Traditionally, a hot toddy tea is made with lemon, honey, tea, and alcohol. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
There are, of course, disputed versions and other claimants. One such story attributes the toddy to an Irish physician named Robert Bentley Todd, who was known to prescribe it to his patients. The truth perhaps lies between the two. Perhaps the physician learned of the recipe from people who returned from India and found it useful for treating people with a cold.
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Easy Apple Cider Hot Toddy With Tea
Published: Oct 11, 2022 by Melissa · This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.
This apple cider hot toddy with tea is a twist on the traditional hot toddy and will warm you up during the cold fall and winter months. Made with honey, apple cider, bourbon, black tea, and spices, it tastes just as good as it looks. And, it only takes 5 minutes to makeand can be made for one or as a batch for a crowd!
Tis the season for warm beverages. Right now, its all about hot tea, coffee, and cocoa. Hot toddies are perfect for when you need a bourbon cocktail that is extra cozy instead of ice cold cocktails like my Bourbon Mule or Smoked Rosemary Old Fashioned. And, many find them soothing for those nasty cold symptoms that tend to show up this time of year. If youre looking for another batch cocktail option, you can also try my Cranberry Mistletoe Vodka Martinis the recipe includes instructions for serving 8.
How To Make The Best Easy Hot Toddy For Cold
Truth be told, there are no ruleson how to make hot toddy cocktail but for the purpose of this post, I willprovide a simple guide on how to make this classic drink.
First, you need hot boiling water, about a glass or depending on how many people you are brewing for.
To a mug, add few cloves and star anise then pour the hot boiling water in a mug. Add honey, lemon juice, whiskey and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the honey and lemon to suit your taste.
Enjoy hot!!
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How To Make The Perfect Hot Toddy With Tea
A good hot toddy is the perfect cozy tea-based drink for chilly weather. While you can make a hot toddy using plain hot water, using loose leaf tea as a base makes for an even tastier and more flavorful drink. Were firm believers in enjoying hot toddies for pleasure, medicinal reasons, and to warm up on cold winter nights!