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This tea hot toddy is made with herbal tea, bourbon, lemon juice, and honey. It’s a delicious hot cocktail that’s the perfect for sick days.
THERE IS NO CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD. THIS RECIPE IS INTENDED TO HELP SOOTHE COLD SYMPTOMS, BUT IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE.
Has the winter weather taken its toll on you this year?
Have you made it through cold and flu season unscathed?
We haven’t.
In fact, this winter has been a little bit rough. Between the two of us, the husband and I have managed to catch what seems like every cold virus coming and going.
We’re on the mend now (again), but I know some of you are still trying to get better.
When I get sick, I usually making a batch of my onion and garlic “get well soup” and some bourbon cough syrup right away.
And then there’s something else I do.
I make this tea hot toddy.
What is a hot toddy?
Hot toddies are traditionally made with liquor, hot water, honey, and some type of herb or spice.
They’re delicious even if you’re completely well, but they’re especially known for being a home remedy for illness.
The warm liquor helps you fall asleep, the honey soothes your throat, and the herbs and spices and flavor and nutrients.
Choosing a Tea
First, you need tea.
I especially love to use mint tea in my hot toddies. I recommend Republic of Tea’s organic mint fields.
If you decide to use a different tea, try to stick with herbal tea and not caffeinated tea. The goal is to drink a tea hot toddy and then go to sleep.
Add Lemon to the hot toddy
Next, grab a lemon.
Or have a friend bring you one from the store.
Lemon juice is deliciously perfect in a hot toddy, because lemon juice tastes amazing, is packed with vitamin C, and helps to naturally break down mucus build-up.
Why Add Honey?
If you don’t usually drink your tea with sweetener, you might be inclined to skip the honey.
And you can definitely skip it if you prefer.
But.
Honey in a hot toddy is doesn’t just add flavor. It also helps coat your throat and acts as a natural cough syrup.
The Best Liquor for a Hot Toddy
There’s one more thing you should add to this hot toddy– the not-so-secret ingredient.
Hot toddies are usually made with either bourbon or whiskey. I usually add a little Maker’s Mark bourbon to mine.
how to make a Tea Hot Toddy
To make a your sick day cocktail, start by brewing the tea.
Add add a little bourbon, the honey, and a squeeze of lemon. That’s it.
You don’t want anything too complicated right now anyway, right? Adjust the amounts to taste, sip your hot toddy slowly, and feel better.
Tea Hot Toddy
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Ingredients
- 1 herbal tea bag (or 1 ½ tsp loose leaf herbal tea)
- 1 oz bourbon (or sub whiskey)
- 2 tsp honey, to taste
- ⅛ lemon, sliced (1-2 slices)
Instructions
- Brew tea in hot water for 2-3 minutes.
- Add bourbon to tea. Add honey (or agave) to taste.
- Squeeze a lemon slice (or 2) into the drink, and then serve with the lemon slice still inside. Serve hot.
I could really go for this right now. I woke up with a sore throat and I was hoping it would just go away. Alas, it has not and it has me wanting to lay in bed all day and forget my adult duties. Lucky for me, I’ve got all the ingredients to make this hot toddy to fix me right up!
I totally understand! Feel better!
Definitely keeping this recipe handy! We’ve been lucky this year – knock on wood – but so many folks around have been fighting the bugs.
Such pretty pictures!
I’ve been drinking so much mint tea lately! I would never think to pair it with bourbon but the ability of both working together to make you sleepy is too good to pass up. Cheers to no more colds!
Yup I love it with the tea added!
Oh Boy, I could just drink this right now. The weather here has been so topsy-turvy that a warm bourbon tea drink is just what we need and the addition of mint n honey sounds so soothing.
This sounds AMAZING! Love the mint twist!
This got rave reviews from my dad, who had several 😉 servings of this while he was sick this week. I think it was pretty easy to make. The only thing was, unfortunately we didn’t have mint tea and the weather was too bad to go out to the store at the time, so we used some green tea we had on hand. I’m sure the mint flavor adds a lot of delightfulness, but even without that he thought it was pretty great.
I’m glad he liked it! I swap out other teas too sometimes and it’s still delicious 😀
This is the perfect drink if you have a sore throat…so soothing. I love the mint!