Hot Toddy

Well, folks, chilly weather has set in (at least for the time being) in New Orleans, and, on cue, I caught a cold.  It's really just that I have a sore throat, a stuffy nose, and a headache; otherwise, I feel perfectly healthy.  So I have taken this opportunity to treat myself to a classic old remedy, a Hot Toddy. 


2 oz single malt Scotch
3.5 oz boiling water
1 cube (tsp) demarara sugar
lemon peel


Muddle the sugar and lemon peel in the bottom of an earthenware mug.  Add boiling water and stir to dissolve sugar.  Add Scotch and stir.

I know, this is technically a Scotch Skin since I added the lemon peel.  This is an old favorite of my grandmother (whose recipe used blended Scotch, hot tea, and honey) and my mother (who uses rum, hot tea, and honey).  What a soothing, warming drink!  The doctor in me knows that scotch, lemon, sugar, and water is no antiviral chemotherapy, but dangit, I swear I feel better.  I believe I'll have another, maybe with Jamaican rum!

My favorite cocktails, part 6: the Manhattan

It's hard to beat a Manhattan for several reasons.  First, they taste great.  Second, the ingredients are cheap and easy to find.  Third, they are easy to make (i.e., it's hard for you, your significant other, or your random bartender to screw one up).  Fourth, the template opens the door to a number of exquisite variations.

This recipe works beautifully:

2 oz rye whiskey
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir on ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. If you can find a Luxardo maraschino cherry, garnish it with that.

Substitute Punt e Mes vermouth to make a Red Hook.
Make it with Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, Fee Brothers Old Fashion bitters, and add Marie Brizard Apry (apricot brandy) and you have a Davidson or a Goodbye Marie.
Consider sherry, another fortified wine, or (now we're stretching it) an Italian amaro instead of sweet vermouth.
Add a little Benedictine or Chartreuse.
Some people prefer or have better access to bourbon, so they make bourbon Manhattans.
You like blended scotch better than rye or bourbon? Make it a Rob Roy.
Rum blends very well with sweet vermouth, too!