The Secret To Making The Perfect Warm And Soothing Hot Toddy

The winter months should be all about foods and beverages that warm you to your core. In the cold season, hot coffee gets a lot of the attention with its sweet flavor additions and countless frothy iterations. Beyond your classic coffee shop fare, beverages like crisp apple cider and spicy wassail are waiting in the wings. Cozy adult sips like mulled wine, cider-based cocktails (and the creative flavors you can add to them), and the hot toddy, should not be overlooked. In fact, hot toddies are a subtly sweet way to end a snow day. But the most comforting are the ones customized to your taste.

The core ingredients of a classic hot toddy are whiskey, hot water, lemon, and honey. The drink holds back on the overwhelming syrupy richness of some of its other seasonal counterparts. To make the cold-weather classic your own, you can try tea in place of water for an herbal twist, experiment with trading out the honey for maple syrup, or add a different citrus (like orange) in place of the lemon. Plus, don't forget to adorn your glass with a fragrant cinnamon stick or other dried spices. You can also switch out the liquor for brandy or rum. Hot toddies make one of the best rum cocktails to enjoy during the winter months.

Hot toddies have become mainstays of winter festivities and an essential next to sick day bedsides. Like a piping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup, hot toddies have been lauded for their medicinal properties. But will a hot toddy really heal you? While the cocktail probably won't rid you of your sickness, warm liquids can help to relieve cold symptoms like sore throat and congestion, and honey might even soothe coughs. However, it's also important to note that alcohol can be dehydrating, and certain medications should not be mixed with alcohol.

There's been a longstanding debate over the invention of the hot toddy, with some accounts placing the start of the hot toddy in Scotland, while others cite India as the drink's place of origin. Today, some variations of the hot toddy incorporate apple cider or ginger and other recipes even make the drink alcohol-free. To mix up the perfect party-ready hot toddy follow the expert tips for hot cocktails: Keep an eye on temperature, properly prepare your glassware, and adjust the citrus as needed.