As soon as the mercury begins to plummet and trust me it has, my tipple of choice turns from gin and tonics to whisky. There’s something very pleasing about the warming, sweet, smokiness of a good whisky, I suspect I may also have watched too much Mad Men, if that’s possible? Anna is adamant that whisky is nasty stuff but I like a challenge and set out to change her mind. Traditionalist whisky drinkers turn their noses up at hot toddies but what do they know, a good hot toddy on a cold day will convert the staunchest of whisky critics. It’s like mulled wine only much, much better.
Some turn to toddies for the medicinal qualities that citrus, spice, heat and alcohol bring to the table, but I drink them with or without a sniffle, in fact sniffle-less is more pleasurable. Whiskies are far ranging in their subtleties and ideally you will taste a few to find ‘the one’. For any entry level whisky sceptics I recommend a nice, sweet bourbon and your local bottle shop will steer you in the right direction I’m sure. If you’re all about rum a spiced rum ticks boxes too. Recipes are generally there to be tinkered with, use them as a guideline and tweak to your taste, the addition of orange zest was all my own but works really well. I also have a hunch that using a bit of warm ginger beer would works wonders too.
Toddies taste better in front of a fire, so if you have one light it up and get cosy, blankets are good too. I picked up an old chiminea at a bric a brac market recently and it’s become my winter companion. I get lost in it’s flickering flames and warm embrace, my inner Neanderthal can’t get enough. Don’t judge me but I’ve taken to filling my coffee cup with a nice toddy for afternoon strolls in the park with Max, father and son have never enjoyed the park so much!
Ingredients (for each toddy)
60ml water
5 cloves
Cinnamon stick
3 slithers of peeled ginger
1 strip of lemon peel
1 strip of orange peel
60ml whisky
2tsp honey
1-2 tsp lemon juice
Directions
Put the water in a small pan along with the spices and peel over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer. Meanwhile rinse a heatproof glass with hot water and dry.
Pour the whisky into your warmed glass and then pour over hot water and spices. Stir in the honey and lemon juice, taste and adjust to how you like it.
What do you turn to to warm you’re cockles when things get frosty?
dad down under 
Mmmm whiskey. Never tried it this way though. Usually I like it neat, on ice or as a whiskey sour.
There was this one night the bar ran out of eggs. They made an awesome whiskey sour. I drank many & spent lots.
Give it a go Kassey, it’s a great cold weather drink that warms you from the inside out. Thanks so much for the comment.
Ooh I like this idea. I’m not a whiskey drinker but this is like a sort of mulled wine situation? Right? I’ve got a sniffle coming on tonight…hmmm…
Its definitely in that mulled wine area but I prefer it. Just use a little bit of whisky and add more until its where you like it, I’m not a massive whisky drinker but this is very, very easy to knock back. Thanks Sarah!
Love a recipe that looks more like ‘experimenting’ than ‘trying to get pissed in a sophisticated manner! I’m all about the destination, and that sounds awesome. Although I do wonder if ‘warming of the cockles’ may be lost in translation. lol! Is it an international phrase? (I’m not sure…but keen to find out!) x
A very good point you raise there Jolene, I will check that out before I ever use that one again. It’s a minefield isn’t it : ) you will love the drink though, cockles or no cockles
Huge Don Draper influence around here. Canadian Club being the whiskey of choice. Will be giving this a go!
You won’t look back Nikki, you’ll be turning up to meetings with the faint hint of whiskey on your breath : )
When it get cold I like slipping a bit of whiskey into a mug of black tea, the peaty taste of the whiskey with the tea is perfect and VERY warming!
Hhhmmmm I’ve never heard that one Em, I might have to give it a go. Thanks for the tip