A hot toddy is great on any cold night, but I especially love this hot toddy recipe to sooth a cold. This warm cocktail is my go-to recipe when I’m under the weather with a nasty cough. A classic whiskey hot toddy is the best cold remedy, and the tastiest! A homemade cure for a common cold that’s easy to make and much tastier than cough syrup! Once you learn how to make a Hot Toddy, you’ll be able to soothe your cold in no time!
Hot Toddy
If you’ve ever wondered how to make a hot toddy…it’s so easy! This classic hot toddy recipe is the perfect warm sip to sooth a sore throat or cough.
It’s cold and flu season! I get a killer head cold every single Winter. If I have to choose between drinking a cap-full of grape flavored cough syrup or drinking this Hot Toddy for a Cold, I think you know what I’m choosing.
Yes, Dimetapp seemed to taste pretty good as a kid, but a bit of whiskey for a cold is the answer for the over 21 crowd. It’s definitely the best cold remedy if you ask me!
This drink recipe is soothing, delicious, and super easy. I don’t recommend it as an actual cure (I’m not claiming to be a doctor), but it sure does seem to help. This warm drink is also perfect for any cold, rainy, snowy night over the winter, even if you’re not under the weather.
This Hot Toddy Recipe is just what the doctor ordered for all of us over the age of 21 (aren’t we lucky!).
Is a Hot Toddy a good cold remedy?
Yes! It’s the best (non medical) cold remedy I know. The warmth of the drink & ingredients can really soothe your sore throat & cough symptoms. Plus whiskey is a pretty good decongestant, and it definitely helps take away the pain of a headache. *I’m not a doctor and this is not an actual cure, but it does make me feel better!
This Hot Toddy Recipe has made an appearance at our house more than a handful of times this winter.
When you have a baby in daycare, you have to learn all the tricks to stay healthy. Sometimes when I feel so sick and disgusting and lazy, and the only words being exchanged at our house are “bless you” and “leave me alone”.
We have had a doozy of a cold and flu season this year and this drink has gotten me through! Once Henry is in bed for the night, it’s time for Mommy to feel better too!
This whiskey Hot Toddy Recipe is the only drink that gets me through a bad cold; that and a nice bowl of soup. You understand. And on days we aren’t sick, I still crave this deliciously warm cocktail!
How to make a Hot Toddy
This cold remedy is easy to make, which is great because you’re probably not feeling that well while making it. All you need is a few soothing ingredients, a microwave, and about 5 minutes!
Hot Toddy Ingredients:
- Whiskey (good quality)
- Hot Water
- Honey
- Ginger
- Lemon Juice
How to Make a Hot Toddy:
- Mix whiskey, water, & lemon juice
- Microwave 1 minute (until hot)
- Stir in honey (& ginger for an extra kick to that cold)
Now drink up! This hot toddy for your cold will warm you up and soothe your throat in no time. It’s the perfect thing to drink at bedtime to help you get some sleep.
Best Cold Remedy
Drinking this hot toddy for a cough is just so much more tasty than medicine!
I’m no doctor, and I definitely don’t claim that this will take the place of real medicine, but I do think a cold remedy hot toddy will make you feel better. There’s something about the warm water, honey, lemon, and whiskey for a cold that can really cure any blues.
Benefits of Drinking a Hot Toddy:
- Whiskey is a great decongestant, and it helps soothe any pain associated with your head cold.
- Hot liquids of any kind are a good way to soothe a sore throat.
- Honey and lemon help soothe a cough and any congestion.
- Ginger is an optional ingredient, but it really helps with cold symptoms.
Being sick is no excuse for not enjoying yourself! In fact, this is a comforting cocktail whether or not you’re stricken with the winter cold and flu blues. We don’t discriminate. This Hot Toddy is sure to comfort anyone and everyone (except children under the age of 21).
Hot Toddy for Coughing
If you find yourself searching “Hot Toddy For Cough”…I’m here for you. This cocktail a day keeps the doctor away. Or at least makes the time until you can see a doctor a little more enjoyable.
Cold and Flu season is such a mess and such a drain on families. This hot toddy won’t cure anything (nothing truly cures a cold; you just gotta deal with the symptoms), but I know it can lift some spirits while soothing your throat.
Guaranteed to help with coughs and sore throats. Whiskey is good like that! If you need a hot sip of something soothing on a cold day, this recipe is your ticket. Go away Cold and Flu Season!
Hot Toddy without Whiskey
If you aren’t 21, don’t worry! You can still enjoy this hot drink to help soothe your cold. Just make this recipe without the whiskey. You’ve still got the hot water, lemon, and honey to help with those cold symptoms. It’s the best cold remedy with or without whiskey!
Some people might just call that honey lemon water, but every drink deserves a name.
Even if you’re feeling fine, this classic hot toddy will warm you up on a cold evening. Everyone gets to enjoy this warm cocktail!
Be sure to check out some of our other fave at home remedy recipes such as our Glowing Skin Smoothie and Detox Lemonade!
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Hot Toddy Recipe for a Cold
Ingredients
- 2 ounces whiskey or bourbon Get some pretty good quality. You’re sick! You deserve the best!
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 4 ounces water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cube crystallized ginger optional
- 1 slice fresh lemon as garnish
Instructions
- Mix together whiskey, water, and lemon juice in a microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave for 1 minute, or until is piping hot.
- Stir in the honey and drop in the ginger if adding.
- Garnish with lemon slice and enjoy, you and your cold deserve it!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Loved this recipe! Thank you..kicked that cough alright!
That looks delicious, Josie! Happy to hear it helped!!
Best recipe!
Thanks so much, Carla!
I love this! I love doing liquor! But don’t do drugs, kids!
I don’t care for alcohol but this was fantastic! I had a cold with a cough that I could not get rid of. So I made this toddy using fireball whiskey. Flavors of lemon and ginger complimented the whiskey well. Calmed my cough immediately! I hope it helps me sleep! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear it helped!
Great recipe and medicinal staple for the upcoming cold and flu season. I’ll definitely try out this version. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by, Shannon!
I’m a recovering alcoholic, so no whiskey or bourbon for me, but it works and tastes great with just the hot water, honey, lemon and ginger. Thanks for the recipe, especially the part about skipping the alcohol altogether!
So glad you enjoyed it, Mandy!
A delicious, simple, comforting drink. It stopped my coughing and put me to sleep. It worked when I’d already taken OTC meds and was still coughing without ceasing
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing, Jan!
Kinda tastes like a lemon honey cough drop, but the hot liquid is helping clear up my sinuses. Keeping this one in the books for my next cold.
Absolutely marvelous! Exactly what I needed for my post Covid cough.
I hear you!
The Whiskey must be Single Mallt whiskey at a ratio of one and a half ounces well as an organic lemon not waxed or in waxed as they have pesticides on them and at the same measurement, and do not put Honey in as it kills off the antibacterial properties honey has especially Manuka honey which is best taken half an hour before. Happy Drinking
If you don’t put the honey in it, then it’s not a hot toddy. And it tastes good and it’s soothing with it and I don’t care if it kills off antibacterial properties. It is not mandatory that one use single malt whiskey and maybe some people don’t care if their lemons are organic or waxed. It seems to me that perhaps you would like to have your own blog catering to the more health conscious reader. Go at it – maybe then you will stop being critical of others. I for one will try this recipe just as written and with my rye whiskey, non-organic lemon and manuka honey. I just wish I had some ginger!