Hot Toddy Anyone? Warm, Toasty, and Just In Time for Winter~ (183 hits)
Hot toddy is a name given to a classic mixed drink, usually including alcohol, that is served hot. Hot toddies (such as mulled cider) are traditionally drunk before going to bed, or in wet and/or cold weather.
They were believed to help cure the cold and flu, but the American Lung Association now recommends avoiding treating the common cold with alcoholic beverages as they cause dehydration.
Pour a shot of Scotch into a cup or mug and add boiling water to it. Add a spoonful of honey or sugar. Add a half slice of lemon, two cloves and, if available, a cinnamon stick. Let brew for three to five minutes. Depending on preference, the cloves and cinnamon stick can be removed before drinking, although leaving them in is often said to make a toddy even better for clearing a blocked nose and relieving a head cold.
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. An alternative explanation is given in Allan Ramsay's 1721 poem The Morning Interview, which describes a tea party in which it is said that
"All the rich requisites are brought from far: the table from Japan, the tea from China, the sugar from Amazonia, or the West Indies, but that 'Scotia does no such costly tribute bring, Only some kettles full of Todian spring.'" To this passage, Ramsay has appended the note:
"The Todian spring, i.e. Tod's Well, which supplies Edinburgh with water." Tod's Well, on the side of Arthur's Seat, supplied Edinburgh, and since whisky derives its name from water (the Scots Gaelic term uisge beatha ), it could be that "Toddy" was a facetious name for whisky.
How to Make a Hot Toddy
Ingredients: •1 oz brandy, whiskey or rum •1 Tbsp honey •1/4 lemon •1 cup hot water •1 tea bag
Preparation: 1.Coat the bottom of a mug or an Irish coffee glass with honey. 2.Add the liquor and the juice of the lemon quarter. 3.On the side, heat water in a tea kettle and add the tea bag to make hot tea. 4.Pour the steaming tea into the glass and stir.
