Drink of the Week: Hot toddy
If there was a perfect drink to warm you up after a day of tromping through a blizzard, sledding in Meridian Hill Park, or taking a few snowballs to the face in Dupont Circle, it would be the hot toddy. Sure, hot cocoa is nice, but we know that with all that time off work, most of you have been giving your livers a workout instead. With that in mind, it is only appropriate that the drink of the week be both hot and alcoholic.
The toddy’s history is hazy, though the Irish generally lay claim to inventing the drink as a nightcap to ward off colds and chills. Like any traditional beverage, there is a fair bit of debate surrounding the exact recipe, but generally a hot toddy is a shot of whiskey mixed with honey, hot water or tea, and a clove-studded slice of lemon.
Whether a hot toddy will ward off sickness is debatable — there is some vitamin C in the lemon, but alcohol also causes dehydration. Potential health benefits aside, the combination of whiskey and tea packs a warming punch that is far more satisfying than drinking PBR in a snow storm.
