drinks for rainy days

[eruthros]

It's been raining all week here - it's cold and damp and there are flood warnings all over, and we've got two inches of water in the basement (landlord: um, we'll deal with it ... later), and basically it is just the kind of wet blech day that reminds me of my mom making hot toddies on the stove when we worked out in the rain. So I had a spiked hot chocolate and some popcorn and watched MST3K doing a Commando Cody serial.

And that made me think about hot alcoholic drinks that are good when it's pouring rain or snowing or freezing outside. My mom used to make hot toddies for my dad (and later for me) when we were sick or when we had to be out in the rain, usually to a rum recipe but sometimes to a brandy one if we didn't have rum. We had a lemon tree in the backyard, so the hot toddies were always seriously lemony, and the lemon and the alcohol tang would sit above the liquid in the hot cup. Later in life I had things like Irish coffee and wassail (especially nom when it has baked apples in it) and several variations on "put alcohol in hot chocolate," but the hot toddy is the symbol of comforting hot drinks for me.

So I wondered what y'all drank (if anything) and especially if y'all had any good recipes! And I like polls.

Poll #8032

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20

View Respondents

Hot alcoholic drinks I/my family drink include:

View Answers

hot toddy (whisky/whiskey)
4 (20.0%)

hot toddy (rum)
4 (20.0%)

hot toddy (brandy)
3 (15.0%)

buttered rum
3 (15.0%)

wassail
5 (25.0%)

mulled wine
8 (40.0%)

spiked hot chocolate
10 (50.0%)

Irish coffee
6 (30.0%)

other spiked coffee
1 (5.0%)

something else! I've got a great recipe I'll share in the comments!
3 (15.0%)

I used to drink this more often than I have in the last few years, but I just made it again to a pretty handwavy recipe. Basically: a handful of semi-sweet chocolate, a spoonful of unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder (to deepen the flavor, because it's going to be cut by the rum), a half a spoonful of sugar (or honey or agave), a dash of vanilla, and about 3/4 of the volume of the serving cups in milk or milk substitute. Heat that whole shebang over medium heat and whisk or stir fairly consistently. Taste it to make sure it's chocolatey or sweet enough, but remember you're going to cut it with some alcohol in a minute so it should be a little more chocolatey than you generally like your hot chocolate. Remove it from the heat, wait until it's steaming but not simmering (if you let it get up to a simmer) and add ... about as much alcohol as you'd put in two mixed drinks (I made a double recipe today and put in about a double shot or 3 oz of rum). But basically any alcohol works; when I lived with people who liked flavored alcohol I'd use butterscotch or peppermint schnapps, or dark rum, or brandy. Some people use tequila but I never cared for it. And now I'm thinking intrigued thoughts about the local maple liqueurs and honey brandies.

And while I'm here let me just drop in a link for a hot buttered spiked cider recipe (a sort of hot buttered rum and mulled cider mashup),

Comments

Scottish hot toddy recipe! Cures the common cold, or at least stops you caring. :)

[futuransky]

In my family, it is crucial to begin the process of hot toddy making by boiling up spices in a small pan. My uncle used cloves and cinnamon sticks; my mother likes to include dried chiles and sometimes cardamom. You boil it gently for a long time––starting with about twice the quantity of water you need then letting it boil down.

Then the classic toddy making process: a freshly squeezed lemon, plenty of honey, and most importantly (though I was given a lot of alcohol-free versions of this as a child) the whisky. Quantity depending on whether you want to go to sleep immediately. :)

If you have access to Crabbie's ginger wine, you can add that as well. My mum made me a ginger wine/whisky/many-spiced toddy when I had a terrible cold over Christmas last year and it was amazing. :)

Re: Scottish hot toddy recipe! Cures the common cold, or at least stops you caring. :)

[eruthros]

Oooh, ginger wine! I've never put that in a toddy but it seems like a great idea. (And ditto the boiling up spices - we always just used cinnamon sticks.)

Re: Scottish hot toddy recipe! Cures the common cold, or at least stops you caring. :)

[apatheia_jane]

My first year of uni, Stone's ginger wine was just about the cheapest can-be-drunk-from-the-bottle booze available. Fast-forward 5 years, & a friend I hadn't seen in 5 years gave me 2L of the stuff that I have no idea what to do with, because I don't think I can drink it straight any more.

Now I know. Thankyou!