Nothing warms the soul quite like a hot cocktail on a frigid winter night. The classic Hot Toddy is perhaps the greatest and best known warm mixed drink, and with these freezing temps, this flavorful variation has recently become a favorite.
Winter, and especially the holiday season, are all about cranberries, so I've been busy whipping up cranberry simple syrup and all kinds of sweet and tart drinks to celebrate the flavor. This recipe uses my cranberry syrup, bourbon, lemon, ginger juice, and hot water. It's a little sweet, a little sour, slightly spicy from the ginger, and very soothing.
About the classic Hot Toddy
The Hot Toddy has been around for at least a couple hundred years. It's history is a bit murky (like most classic cocktails), but the drink appears to have been derived from an Indian beverage made from palm sap. The Indian beverage was called a "taddy," and overtime was adapted by the occupying British and turned into the traditional hot toddy we know today.
The Hot Toddy became popular in the UK, even being prescribed by doctors. There really is nothing like a steaming cup of whiskey, lemon and honey to help soothe the common cold!
Ingredients you'll need
For a basic toddy, you'll need whiskey, hot water, lemon, honey and spices. Here we're swapping out the honey for a cranberry simple syrup (which you could make with honey if you like). In addition to lemon, we're adding a splash of ginger juice for even more zesty flavor.
Bourbon
Choose a quality bourbon or rye whiskey. Blended Scotch whisky is also a great choice. I like to use Maker's Mark in my toddies. You'll need two ounces of whiskey.
Cranberry simple syrup
The cranberry simple syrup is easy to make and doesn't take too long. You'll need a cup of fresh or frozen cranberries, a cup of sugar, and a cup of water. Simmer everything for about five minutes, then cool, strain, and it's ready to go. You'll need one ounce of syrup for this recipe. Get the Cranberry Simple Syrup Recipe.
Ginger juice
While it's absolutely an option to make your own with a juicer, I always keep a bottle of The Ginger People Ginger Juice in my fridge. It's delicious, perfectly spicy, and it always tastes so fresh. It's also really affordable (usually $5-6) since a little goes a long way.
I use this ginger juice for making my super quick ginger simple syrup too. You can find it on Amazon, at Whole Foods, or even your local grocery store (Shaw's in my area always has it). You'll need just a quarter of an ounce of ginger juice to add plenty of flavor to this toddy.
Lemon
You'll need a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to round out the sweet and spicy flavors of this toddy. For this recipe, you only need a quarter ounce of lemon juice (which is approximately one lemon wedge).
Hot water
Of course we'll need some hot water, too! It doesn't have to be boiling, but the hotter the water, the longer your drink will stay hot. You'll need about 4-6 ounces of hot water for this recipe.
How to make the hot toddy
Now that you've assembled your ingredients, it's time to enjoy. Hot Toddies are super simple because you just build the drink in the glass/mug. I like to use a large glass mug or an Irish coffee glass for my toddies.
To begin, warm your mug by filling it with hot water from the tap and setting it aside. This will help keep your Hot Toddy warmer for longer. The room temp or chilled ingredients will cool off the drink quickly, so don't skip this step.
While your mug is warming, heat up your water. Once the water is boiling, dump the hot water from your mug and then add the bourbon, cranberry syrup, ginger juice, and lemon juice.
Top with hot water, give it a gentle stir, and garnish with a lemon wheel, fresh cranberries, and spices, if you like. A cinnamon stick or a few cloves piercing the peel of the lemon wheel are classic choices. An orange slice or a single star anise is a nice touch, too!
Recipe variations
There are so many ways to make this spiced cranberry hot toddy your own, or to make it with what you have on hand. From the flavors and spices to type of whiskey or sweetener, let's go over some basic substitutions and variations.
Whiskey
I like a bourbon toddy because bourbon has a naturally sweet-tasting flavor profile with notes of vanilla, caramel, and stone fruit. The inherent sweetness is why I also really like a Scotch toddy. However, you can use any whiskey you like, including rye, Canadian, blended, Irish, Japanese, etc.
Rye whiskey has a spicier flavor profile which I think pairs beautifully with ginger. The only whiskies I'd avoid here are flavored or sweetened ones. If you do use one of those, you may not need any additional sweetener, or you may want to scale it back considerably.
Cranberry
I prefer to use cranberry syrup for my toddies for its concentrated sweet and tart flavor, but it's also possible to use cranberry juice. If using cranberry juice, you might want to add a little bit of simple syrup or honey for balance.
Ginger
If ginger juice isn't an option, another great way to incorporate the ginger flavor is with ginger tea. Simply brew a cup of ginger tea and then use that in place of your ginger juice and hot water.
You may also enjoy these other winter cocktails:
Cranberry Ginger Hot Toddy
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1 oz cranberry simple syrup
- ¼ oz ginger juice I use The Ginger People
- ¼ oz lemon juice
- 4-6 oz hot water
Instructions
- Warm you mug by filling it with hot water and setting it aside. Bring your water to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, dump the hot water from your mug. Then add the bourbon, syrup, and juices. Top with boiling water.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel and cranberries, if desired.