Returning home following a hellish hour on London transport, through the snow and slush and oomska, I needed a dose of medicine. Not proper medicine, mind, since I wasn't technically ill, but something to answer the cold in my bones and the mild discombobulation that comes with the passing of daylight on the shortest day of the year.
The remedying powers of hot toddies have long been recognised, and it's not hard to see why liquor and warmth might be preferable to a patient when the alternative is, well, anything else.
A recipe I found here advises leaving your best spirits alone and reaching for a supermarket blend of "gulpin' whisky", since if you're suffering from a terrible cold you're unlikely to appreciate the good stuff anyway. Fair point, but I wasn't sick - I just wanted to feel better, so I turned instead to my bottle of Talisker and decided that if this smoky, spicy single malt couldn't perk me up then maybe I was less well than I suspected.
The prescription:
60ml (2oz) Talisker 10-year-old
60ml (2oz) boiling water
Half a teaspoon of honey
Dash of lemon or lime juice
Pour the whisky into a tumbler and stir in the honey. Add the boiling water and stir some more. Add a little citrus juice and stir again. Place glass in the microwave for a few seconds until the potion is piping hot. Drink before it gets cold.
Introducing the Talisker Toddy: short, smooth, sweet, smoky, and deeply warming. In other words, just what the doctor should order. And if he doesn't, find another doctor.
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