Hot Toddy
A Hot Toddy is 60ml Scotch, 15ml honey syrup, 15ml fresh lemon juice and 120ml water just off the boil. Stir the honey syrup, lemon and water in a warmed mug, add the whisky last, and finish with a clove-studded lemon wheel and a cinnamon stick. About 2.4 UK units. The Oxford Companion says the toddy’s origin is murky and does not appear to be linked to the South Asian palm wine of the same name, that it first appears in print in England in 1741, and that Scotland made the drink an institution, particularly the hot version. In our view, made with Scotch it is the version most tied to Scotland. Restraint is the method. Water just off the boil keeps the whisky’s aroma in the mug, and honey syrup mixes where neat honey sinks.
Glassware: Irish Coffee Mug
Garnish: Cinnamon stick, Lemon wheel and Three or four cloves studded into the lemon wheel
Ingredients
60ml
A mid-weight blend of Scotch whisky, 40% ABV, added last so its aroma stays in the mug. Irish whiskey makes a softer toddy, bourbon a sweeter one.
15ml
Two parts honey to one of warm water, mixed in advance so it disperses. Honey rounds the drink in a way plain sugar does not.
15ml
From a lemon cut that day. At 15ml against the same measure of honey syrup it stops a hot, sweet drink tasting flat in the mouth; heat dulls acid a little, so do not cut it.
120ml
Just off the boil, never at it. A rolling boil drives off the whisky’s aroma and makes the drink too hot to sip.
Instructions
Warm a heatproof glass or mug with hot water, then discard the water.
Boil the kettle and leave it off the heat for about 30 seconds.
Add the honey syrup, lemon juice and 120ml of the hot water, and stir.
Add the Scotch last and stir once more.
Drop in a clove-studded lemon wheel and a cinnamon stick, and serve.
Expert Tip
Use water just off the boil, never at it. A rolling boil drives the whisky’s aroma out of the mug and makes the drink too hot to hold for minutes. Take the kettle off, count to about thirty, then pour. Add the whisky last. The honey syrup, lemon and water go in first and are stirred together, and the spirit joins a drink that has already come down a few degrees. Warm the mug and use honey syrup, two parts honey to one of warm water. A cold mug takes the heat straight out of the drink, and neat honey sinks and clumps.
Behind the Hot Toddy
Flavour Profile
The Origin
The Oxford Companion says the toddy first appears in print in England in 1741 and was already popular in British America by 1750; it says the drink does not appear to be linked to the South Asian palm wine of the same name. In our view, made with Scotch it is the version most tied to Scotland.
The Medicine Question
The Oxford Companion says the hot toddy kept a therapeutic reputation for flagging constitutions. The NHS lists hot lemon and honey for a cough, saying it can have a similar effect to cough syrup but that there is limited evidence it helps. In our view the whisky soothes nothing, and nothing in the mug cures a cold.
Building It Properly
Honey syrup rather than neat honey, so it mixes; water just off the boil rather than at it; whisky added last, so its aroma stays in the drink.
Hot Toddy: the parts and their jobs
Scotch
- Measure
- 60ml, added last
- Its job
- Warmth and aroma
Honey syrup
- Measure
- 15ml
- Its job
- Sweetness and roundness
Fresh lemon juice
- Measure
- 15ml
- Its job
- Acid, so the drink does not go flat
Water just off the boil
- Measure
- 120ml
- Its job
- Heat and length
Clove-studded lemon wheel, cinnamon stick
- Measure
- In the mug
- Its job
- Spice that builds as it sits
| Ingredient | Measure | Its job |
|---|---|---|
| Scotch | 60ml, added last | Warmth and aroma |
| Honey syrup | 15ml | Sweetness and roundness |
| Fresh lemon juice | 15ml | Acid, so the drink does not go flat |
| Water just off the boil | 120ml | Heat and length |
| Clove-studded lemon wheel, cinnamon stick | In the mug | Spice that builds as it sits |
The Clove-Studded Lemon
Cloves release their oils slowly in hot liquid, so the studded wheel works like a tea bag: the drink is mildly spiced when it arrives and more so ten minutes later.
Three or four cloves are enough; a dozen turn it medicinal. The cinnamon stick does the same job more slowly and gently.
Why Hot Drinks Are Different
Heat changes how a drink tastes. Aroma rises all the time, so the whisky and spice reach the nose more than in a cold drink. Sweetness reads lower. And dilution is fixed when you build it, with no ice to correct a heavy pour.
So a toddy has to be right when it is made. One that arrives too strong stays that way to the last mouthful.
How to Serve It
In a warmed, handled mug or heatproof glass, hot enough to hold in both hands and cool enough to sip at once. Leave the lemon and cinnamon in; they keep working as it cools.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Whisky (Scotch)Scotch is whisky distilled and matured in Scotland, kept in oak for three years at the least, and bottled no weaker than 40% ABV. The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 allow only three ingredients, water, malted barley and whole grains of other cereals, and only water and plain caramel colouring may be added later. Fifteen recipes in our library call for it, from the Penicillin and Hot Toddy to the Rob Roy.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Hot Toddy help a cold?
What whisky is best in a toddy?
Why not use boiling water?
How strong is a Hot Toddy?
Where does the name toddy come from?
Can I make it without alcohol?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Jack Robertiello), “The toddy” (secondary source: first in print in England in 1741, popular in British America by 1750; not linked to the South Asian palm wine; Scotland made the hot version an institution; the therapeutic reputation of the hot toddy).
- NHS, “Cough” (official page: hot lemon and honey can have a similar effect to cough syrup; limited evidence that it helps ease a cough).
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026