Best Hot Toddy Recipe | With Tea & For Colds | Inspire • Travel • Eat (2024)

FAQs

Does hot toddy break up mucus? ›

From a hot toddy, lemon and honey coat the throat and cut through the unpleasant mucus lingering in the head; cinnamon offers sweet warmth to the beverage, and the bourbon takes a more aggressive approach in combatting congestion.

A hot toddy is a home remedy made from common household ingredients to treat the symptoms of cold and flu. The ingredients are warmed and ingested as a drink to help with sore throat pain, runny nose, and cough. The ingredients for a hot toddy are a combination of lemon or lemon juice, honey, and hot water.

To make a hot toddy, you'll need bourbon (which is a type of whiskey), honey, lemons, cinnamon sticks, star anise pods, and whole cloves. Simply combine the bourbon, lemon juice, and honey in a mug and add boiling water (use more or less water depending on how strong you'd like your hot toddy to be).

Furthermore, there's evidence that suggests drinking two hot toddies per day can help relieve cold symptoms such as sore throats and congestion when paired with restful sleep.

Drinking enough liquids, especially warm ones can help with mucus flow. Water and other liquids can loosen your congestion by helping your mucus move. Try sipping liquids, like juice, clear broths, and soup. Other good liquid choices include decaffeinated tea, warm fruit juice, and lemon water.

Then, the toddy is often spiced with cloves and cinnamon for even more warmth. This concoction contains many ingredients that can help alleviate cold symptoms. For one, whiskey serves as a decongestant, helping thin mucus. It can also help you fall asleep if you're feeling restless.

You can use whatever tea you want for a hot toddy, and any full-bodied, flavorful tea that can stand up well to the strong flavors of spirits and lemon is a good option.

Brandy, with its warming properties, is often considered a traditional remedy for cold symptoms. When consumed in moderation, brandy can help relax the muscles, providing relief from the aches and pains associated with a cold. Yes, you should drink a lot of water.

"Hot toddies, as the name implies, are served hot. Heat does wonders for someone when sick. A hot beverage can soothe the throat and can provide someone who has shaking (with) chills the feeling and comfort of a warm hug," Ascher said. The heat also helps to break down and thin out mucus to help clear it from the body.

Is a hot toddy healthy? ›

If you've ever been offered a co*cktail when you are feeling under the weather, there may actually be some benefit to sipping one in particular. The Hot Toddy, a hot beverage made with lemon, honey, and whiskey, is known to alleviate a sore throat and symptoms from the common cold and flu.

But fear not, hot cider, hot toddy, and mulled wine lovers: Around 85 percent of your beloved alcohol will survive the heating process. The U.S. Department of Agriculture did a study in 2007 that nailed down the numbers with the magic of the scientific method.

The classic hot toddy, typically made of whiskey, honey, fresh lemon juice and hot water, might help ease nasal congestion and the sniffles — much like a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

Spirits combined with hot water (or herbal tea) honey and lemon is a beverage that helps clear up your cold symptoms and makes you feel toasty and cozy. According to folklore, by the time you finish the drink you will be breathing better, and the alcohol will start to make you drowsy so you can rest easy.

Whiskey can temporarily widen your blood vessels. In small amounts, this can help clear mucus congestion in your sinuses and chest, which lets your body better deal with sickness and infection. This effect may also relieve other symptoms of a cold or flu, like coughing or wheezing.

Alcohol dilates blood vessels, which makes it easier for your body's mucus membranes to deal with the infection. And if you enjoy your whiskey mixed into a hot beverage like a toddy, then you'll experience additional benefits as the moisture from the hot water helps relieve nasal decongestion.

Orange, pineapple and watercress juice are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, potassium and bromelain. These substances contain expectorant, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action, which help to get rid of phlegm and strengthen the immune system to speed-up cold and flu recovery.

Myth: Alcohol's decongestant properties can help treat cold symptoms. Alcohol is rumored to work as a decongestant, but actually, the reverse is true. Small amounts of alcohol can cause vasodilation — a widening of blood vessels — which can worsen a runny nose or congestion.