We love this easy hot toddy made with whiskey or bourbon, fresh lemon, and honey. My favorite hot toddy recipe is warm, cozy, soothing, and simple to make.
I love a hot toddy, especially during the colder months. A hot toddy is a classic cocktail with dark liquor like whiskey, hot water, and spices.
We love adding lemon and sweetening the hot toddies with honey. It’s so soothing.
Key Ingredients
- Dark liquor: Use brandy, whiskey, dark rum, or bourbon. The best liquor for making hot toddies is one you already enjoy the flavor of. We love using dark rum or bourbon.
- Hot water or hot tea: My favorite hot toddy recipe calls for hot tea. We’ve tried a variety of teas. Like English breakfast, black tea stands up to the liquor, but a calmer, more soothing tea like chamomile works well, too. I also really enjoy ginger tea.
- Honey or maple syrup: Sweetens up our hot toddy. Add as much as you need.
- Fresh lemon: Classic in this recipe, and I love it. Orange is also quite delicious.
- Apple cider vinegar: My secret ingredient for the best hot toddy! A tiny splash of apple cider vinegar brings out all the flavors of the toddy without making it taste too sweet. Adam came up with the idea after ordering a hot toddy at a small bar in Seattle (they mixed in a shrub, which is basically a fruit-and-vinegar syrup added to cocktails and sodas).
How to Make a Hot Toddy
When making hot toddies, I first warm my mug, add hot water, swirl, and then dump it out. Then, I add hot water or brew tea and stir in fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and honey until they dissolve.
Add a splash of liquor (I love dark rum or bourbon) and a slice of lemon. So good!
How to Make a Hot Toddy for a Cold?
My grandmother swears by a hot toddy for colds, but we skip the alcohol when we’re sick. We still make our hot toddy recipe, but we leave out the alcohol. A drink made with lemon, honey, hot water, and a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar is soothing and feels amazing on a sore throat. I often swap that hot water for tea, like chamomile.
Soothing Honey Hot Toddy
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My favorite hot toddy recipe works well with dark liquor, but I especially love dark rum or bourbon.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ounce dark rum or bourbon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon pure honey
1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, optional
1/4 cup hot water or brewed tea
Lemon slice
Directions
1Put honey, lemon juice and the apple cider vinegar in a warmed mug. Add hot water or hot tea and stir until the honey has dissolved.
2Add the rum or bourbon, stir then finish with a lemon slice.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Apple cider vinegar: The acid from the apple cider vinegar brings out all the flavors of the toddy without making it taste too sweet. The drink tastes great without it as well, but if you have cider vinegar in your pantry, give it a try.
- Tea: We’ve tried chamomile, ginger and even a black tea before. All were nice, but the black tea really stood out as a favorite — especially with dark rum.
- Hot Toddy Mocktail: Make the recipe as stated above, but leave out the rum. This drink as a mocktail is delicious!
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Wow! I enjoyed this recipe so much it made me rave to my partner how good it was. Apple cider vinegar is so good for your health anyway however, it was the best drink for a cold with all the ingredients added. I think I have asthma…but it was really soothing. Thank you so much. Loved loved loved it!!