The hot toddy is the grandfather of hot drinks and it has stayed popular because it asks for so little. Strip it back and you have alcohol and a sweetener with citrus and hot water. Our version swaps the usual spoonful of honey for Beeble Honey Whisky which means one less thing to dissolve and one less jar to find. Most people sip it slowly as a nightcap or something to hold on a cold afternoon.
The recipe
You'll want 100ml of Beeble Honey Whisky and 100ml of boiling water with the juice of half a lemon. The spices are a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon and an eighth of ground nutmeg with two cloves and a cinnamon stick to finish. Crush the cloves lightly in a pestle and mortar before they go in. The glass gets warmed first with boiling water which sits for a minute or two and is then tipped out. Fresh boiling water goes in until the glass is half full and the rest of the ingredients follow with a good stir. A slice of lemon and the cinnamon stick sit on top.
[Beeble top tip: if you have the time, heat the whisky and lemon juice with the spices gently before adding the hot water so the drink is piping hot to serve.]
Why the glass matters
A cold glass takes heat out of a drink faster than most people expect. By the time you've found a seat the toddy has lost its edge and the spices taste muted. Warming the glass takes two minutes and fixes it. The same thinking sits behind the tip of heating the whisky and spices in a pan. Keep the flame low because boiling whisky loses its character and you only want it hot enough to open up the spices.
Ingredients:
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100 ml Beeble Honey Whisky
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100 ml boiling water
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Juice of half a lemon, squeezed
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¼ tsp ground cinnamon
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⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
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1 cinnamon stick
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2 cloves (slightly ground using pestle and mortar)
Method:
- Fill a heat-proof glass with boiling water and let it stand for 1-2 mins to warm
- Empty mug and half-fill with the 150ml of fresh boiling water
- Add all other ingredients to glass and stir
- Garnish with a slice of lemon and a cinnamon stick
Beeble’s Top Tip: If you have the time, gently heat the whisky, lemon juice and spices before adding the hot water to ensure the drink is piping hot to serve!
A little room to play
Nutmeg is strong and a pinch does more than most people think so go gently. If the drink feels too sweet a squeeze more lemon will pull it back and if it feels sharp you can leave the juice of that last quarter out. Dropping to one clove makes it softer. Change one thing at a time and you'll find your version in a couple of glasses.
This scales up well for friends because everything can go into one pan. Four drinks need 400ml of whisky and 400ml of water with two lemons and the spices doubled to match. Warm it on the hob and ladle it into warmed glasses. It goes nicely with fruit cake or dark chocolate and it's a good partner for a cold evening in front of the fire.
Our honey whisky Old Fashioned has more ideas for the same bottle and the Whisky Bees Knees is a good pick when you want something with lemon in it.
