That Age-Old Health Drink
Few things are quite as satisfying as a Hot Toddy on a cold day. But if you ask each of your friends how to make one, chances are you’ll get some version of a recipe that includes a combination of lemon, honey, ginger, tea, or cinnamon sticks. Over time, the Toddy has become more of a genre of drink than a specific recipe, so your friends wouldn’t be wrong.
But if you go by the first printed Hot Toddy recipe, they wouldn’t be right, either. Printed in the 1862 edition of Jerry Thomas’ Bartender’s Guide, it calls for a vaguely unappetizing combination of sugar, brandy, hot water, and a bit of nutmeg.
DRINK HISTORY
Like the Cocktail (better known as the precursor to the Old Fashioned), the Toddy existed centuries before it found its way into print. There’s documented evidence from the 1750s that a Scottish doctor living in Maryland called rye, or rum—or whatever was available). At that point, it was one of the only ways that Americans consumed Scotch.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Two popular theories exist regarding the Toddy’s name. The first is that it was a bastardization of the name of a drink made from fermented tree sap that was popular in India. As the legend goes, a representative of the East India Company introduced it, and it spread quickly.
The other story, which is probably also false, is that the name was linked to the Todian Springs in Edinburgh. Locally, whisky may have been nicknamed “toddy,” and the water that was heated was pulled from the spring. Put it together, and you’ve got a name.
However its name came about, the Hot Toddy lives on as the easy, warm drink that gets us through the winter.
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