The hot toddy for winter evenings

Hot water, whisky, honey and lemon

A good starting spec is 45 ml of whisky, 15 ml of honey, 15 ml of fresh lemon juice and 100 to 120 ml of hot water. Add a cinnamon stick or a couple of cloves if you like spice. Stir until the honey dissolves and drink it while it is warm.

The ratio is relaxed. More water makes it gentler, more honey makes it richer. The constant is fresh lemon; bottled juice tastes stewed in hot water.

Do not boil the whisky

Ethanol boils at about 78 °C, well below water at 100 °C. Pour whisky into water straight off the boil and some of the alcohol flashes off with the aroma. The steam stings the nose and the drink tastes flat.

Let the kettle rest for a minute or two after it clicks off, so the water drops to somewhere around 80 °C. Put the honey, lemon and water in the glass first, then add the whisky last. Never heat whisky in a pan on the stove. Besides losing aroma, warm alcohol vapour near a gas flame can catch fire.

Warm the glass before you start

A thick glass mug straight from a cold cupboard can pull a lot of heat out of a small drink. Fill it with hot water for a minute, tip that away, then build the toddy. The drink stays warm far longer.

Use a heat-proof glass or mug with a handle. Ordinary thin tumblers can crack with hot water, especially in winter when they start cold. A glass also lets you see the colour, which is half the pleasure.

Choose a whisky that stands up to heat

Heat lifts aroma fast, including the sharp edge of alcohol. A robust blended Scotch, a bourbon or a smooth Irish whiskey stands up well. Bourbon brings vanilla that loves honey. A lightly peated whisky gives a smoky toddy that some people swear by on a cold night.

Do not use a rare or delicate malt. Heat, honey and lemon flatten the details you paid for. Indian blends make a perfectly good toddy and are the sensible choice. If you want to know which styles hold up best, our guide to whisky styles of the world is a good map.

The name came from India

Toddy in India means something else entirely: fermented palm sap, sold as kallu in Kerala and tari in parts of the north. The English word comes from that Hindi word, carried home by the British in the colonial era. Over time it came to mean a warm mixed drink of spirit, sugar and hot water.

So when a Delhi or Shimla winter evening calls for a hot toddy, you are drinking a word that travelled from Indian palm groves to Scottish kitchens and back again.

Comfort, not a cure

Honey and lemon in hot water feel soothing, which is why the toddy has a reputation as a cold remedy. It is not one. Alcohol does not treat a cold or a cough and does not mix safely with many cold and flu medicines. If you are taking any medicine, ask a pharmacist before drinking alcohol at all.

Warm drinks also go down quickly. One toddy is a nightcap; three is a different evening. Keep it to one, drink water alongside and never drive after it.

Spices and swaps

The basic toddy welcomes spice. A cinnamon stick, two or three cloves pressed into a lemon wheel or a slice of fresh ginger all work. A crushed green cardamom pod gives a very Indian version that suits honey well. Add spices to the hot water first and let them steep for a minute before the whisky goes in.

Honey is not the only sweetener. Jaggery dissolved in the hot water gives a darker, toffee-like toddy. Brown sugar is milder. Use what you like, but measure it; a toddy that is too sweet tastes cloying once it cools.

Some people swap the water for weak black tea. It adds a little tannin and body. Keep the tea light, because strong tea fights the whisky.

Make the base first, then the drink

Tonight, make the honey, lemon and hot water base without any whisky. Taste it. Then add 30 ml of whisky and taste again. Note what the whisky brought: warmth, vanilla, smoke or just heat.

Try a different whisky in the same base another night. That simple comparison teaches you more about how whisky behaves in warm water than any recipe. If the hot version tempts you less, the highball is the toddy's cold summer cousin.

Common questions

What temperature should a hot toddy be?

Hot but not boiling. Let the kettle rest for a minute or two so the water is around 80 °C, then add the whisky last.

What is the best whisky for a hot toddy?

A robust blend, bourbon or Irish whiskey. Save delicate and expensive malts for drinking neat.

Does a hot toddy help with a cold?

No. It may feel comforting, but alcohol does not treat a cold and can interact with medicines. Check with a pharmacist if you are taking any.