Honey-Ginger Hot Toddy with Clove-Studded Lemon

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The bar-quality version of the drink everyone thinks they already know. A quick honey-ginger syrup does the heavy lifting so the honey actually dissolves instead of sinking, the water is heated to just under a boil so the whiskey keeps its aroma, and a clove-studded lemon wheel perfumes every sip. Two mugs, ten minutes, and a genuinely warming drink for a cold night or a sore throat.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup honey, preferably wildflower or clover
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced (no need to peel)
• 2 strips lemon peel, removed with a vegetable peeler
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 4 oz bourbon, rye, or Irish whiskey
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 large lemon)
• 2 oz honey-ginger syrup, from above
• 10 oz hot water

• 2 wheels lemon, cut 1/4-inch thick
• 8 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the syrup: combine the honey, water, sliced ginger, lemon peel strips, and salt in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and warm, stirring, until the honey dissolves and the mixture just begins to steam and bubble at the edges, about 3 minutes. Do not let it boil hard.
2. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep 5 minutes for a gentle ginger warmth or up to 10 minutes for a real bite. Strain into a small jar or measuring cup, pressing on the ginger to get everything out. You'll have about 1/2 cup; the extra keeps 3 weeks refrigerated.
3. Fill two heatproof mugs or glass toddy cups with very hot tap water and let them sit 2 minutes to preheat. A cold mug can drop a finished toddy 20 degrees in seconds.
4. Stud each lemon wheel with 4 whole cloves, pushing them through the peel into the flesh. Set aside.
5. Bring 2 cups of fresh water to a boil, then remove from the heat and let it stand 1 minute so it settles to about 200°F. Water at a rolling boil flashes off the whiskey's aroma.
6. Dump the water out of the preheated mugs. To each mug add 2 oz whiskey, 1/2 oz lemon juice, and 1 oz honey-ginger syrup. Stir once to combine.
7. Top each mug with 5 oz of the hot water and stir gently for 5 seconds to integrate. Taste: add another teaspoon of syrup if your lemons were especially sharp, or a squeeze more juice if it reads sweet.
8. Float a clove-studded lemon wheel in each mug, add a cinnamon stick as a stirrer, and grate over a whisper of nutmeg if using. Serve immediately, while the mug is still hot to the touch.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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