Warm Yourself, However You Can
By Caroline Clough in Food on Dec 4, 2006 4:23PM
Last year, around this time, Chicagoist told you a fair amount about Hot Toddies. We told you then that there are many different ways to make a hot toddy, and we thought, for variety's sake, we'd tell you about a slightly different version this year. It's not supposed to get much above thirty degrees this week, and that's awfully sad and pretty darn cold. We always feel better about being out and about in the winter months when we know that a hot toddy can (and often will) be the end to our outside hours. We've even made up a variation for your under twenty-ones who are itching to be like the grown-ups!
First off we'd like to tell you about the grown-up version we like best. This may have a bit of a hot wassail feel to it because of the added ingredient of apple juice. But when we serve these suckers at "Grey's Anatomy" get-togethers we call them hot toddies, so you can too. We usually serve our toddies in large mugs with a capacity for a little under two cups. If you're using smaller cups adjust the recipe as is necessary.
What You Need
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons apple juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 shots whiskey (or bourbon ... which is whiskey ... what?)
1 1/2 cup hot water
What You Do
1. Put a kettle of water on a burner.
2. Set up your cup, and add all the ingredients. We usually do this starting with the dry ingredients, then the honey, then the apple and lemon juice, and finally the whiskey. We've been using Jim Beam lately.
3. When your kettle screams, pour some water into that mug and stir.
4. That's it.
Now, if you have a kiddie that wants to be like the grown-ups, we've come up with a non-alcoholic but similar-looking equivalent. The ingredients and what you do are basically the same, just take out the whiskey and add about 1 3/4 cup hot lemon tea. It's actually quite nice.
Be warned that at the bottom of your mug you will find a honey spice concoction that did not dissolve in the hot water. It's not so great to look at, but it is a good base for your next round — and you must have a next round!