Whisky, hot water, honey, lemon, cinnamon, clove. The drink that has been curing colds and ruining bedtimes since 1750.
Why you are pouring this tonight
The Hot Toddy is the cocktail your grandmother made you when you had a cold and the cocktail you make yourself when you are forty-three and the radiator has decided to take a personal day. Whisky, hot water, honey, lemon, two whole cloves and a stick of cinnamon. That is the drink. Anyone who tries to add ginger ale or apple cider or a sprig of thyme has missed the entire point and should be politely escorted from the kitchen.
The trick is the honey. Use a real honey, the kind that has actually seen a beehive. A spoonful of leatherwood from a Tasmanian apiary that you bought at a farmer’s market in February and have been slowly working through ever since. The supermarket squeeze-bottle honey will work but the drink will taste like a polite version of itself. The whisky should be a Scotch with some character, Monkey Shoulder at $55 from Dan Murphy’s is the everyday option. A single malt is wasted here. Save the Lark for a glass on its own when you have nothing better to do than stare at the wall and think about your life choices.
The water is the most under-considered part of the drink. It should be hot, not boiling. Boiling water flashes off the alcohol and bullies the honey. Hot kettle water that has sat for two minutes in the mug while you assembled the rest is the temperature you want. The drink should warm your hands without burning your tongue.
What to pour it alongside
It is its own meal. If you must eat, a piece of buttered raisin toast or a wedge of sharp cheddar on a digestive biscuit. The toddy is for after dinner, in front of the heater, while you negotiate with yourself about whether to go to bed. It is also the drink to make for a friend who is sick and has stopped answering texts. Drop it off in a thermos. They will recover. They will also love you for life.
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Notes from the kitchen
Stud the lemon wheel with the cloves. The cloves go on the lemon, not loose in the drink. This does two things: it stops the cloves sinking to the bottom and getting stuck in your teeth like an aggressive accusation, and it lets the lemon oils mingle with the clove oils on the surface of the drink where you can actually smell them. Aroma is half the toddy. The cinnamon stick sits in the glass and slowly steeps. Do not chop or break it. A whole stick releases its flavour over fifteen minutes, which is roughly how long the drink lasts before it goes cold and becomes a project.
Honey-to-whisky ratio is one part honey to two parts whisky. Adjust to taste. If you want a sweeter, more medicinal toddy, go closer to one-to-one. If you want a stiffer drink, leave the honey at one teaspoon and pour with a heavier hand. There is no wrong answer except a microwaved one.
Two things that go wrong
Honey sinks to the bottom and refuses to dissolve
You poured the honey first and the water on top. Reverse it: honey into hot water, stir until dissolved, then add the whisky. Heat dissolves honey. Whisky just makes it sticky.
Drink tastes harsh and medicinal
Water was boiling, not hot. The alcohol has flashed off and the lemon oils have gone bitter. Let the kettle sit for two minutes after it boils. The drink should warm you, not bully you.
Variations worth knowing
Bourbon toddy
Swap the Scotch for Maker’s Mark or Wild Turkey 101. Sweeter, rounder, slightly more American. The lemon balances the sweetness.
Apple-cider toddy
Replace the hot water with hot, unsweetened apple cider. Skip the lemon and add an orange wheel instead. A more autumnal, bonfire-night version.
Cold-buster
Add a thumb of fresh ginger sliced thin, two extra cloves, a pinch of cayenne. The drink for the night you are pretty sure you are coming down with something but you are still hosting people anyway.
Leftovers and make ahead
There are no leftovers. If there are, you have made too much. Make the toddy single-serve, in the mug it will be drunk from. The clove-studded lemon wheel can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to two days, which is the only meaningful prep this drink ever requires. The cinnamon stick can be reused in a second toddy the same night if you are running low. After that, throw it on the fire. It will smell incredible.
The recipe
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