Make your own Scottish Hot Toddy with this traditional recipe (2024)

Winter's icy cold grip firmly has us in its hold and to warm you up you'll need a delicious hot drink.

A traditional hot toddy is a little liquid hug in a glass.

Tasty, warming and a natural way to alleviate colds (according to some), the traditional Scottish hot toddy with whisky is a fun way to deal with the cold this winter.

The origins of the name for this popular drink are still hotly disputed.

Many believe it is derived from a drink Scots would have came into contact with during the days of the British Empire, called a 'taddy', which was enjoyed in India and began as a drink made using fermented palm sap before becoming defined as any liquor mixed with sugar and spices.

Others argue that it originated in Scotland, and is named after a well in the capital, stemming from a time when it was common to mix other ingredients with whisky to make it more palatable – in the days when it was not the quality drink it is today.

Whatever the truth, there is no doubting that we Scots have fully embraced it, and it's still widely enjoyed in the winter months.

To make it is fairly easy, and you'll only need a few readily available ingredients, here is our fun recipe to get you started.

What you'll need to make a delicious hot toddy:

35ml (or 50ml for stronger) of Scotch whisky - this can be a single malt but is usually better being a blend for a more robust flavour.

1 tbsp Scottish Honey

Sugar

Two slices of lemon

Cloves

100-200ml of hot water - depending on how strong you want it.

A glass with a handle - or even a mug

[Optional if you want to experiment]

A stick of cinnamon (for an extra punch of spice)

Star anise (for the extra sharp flavour to help clear the airways)

Peated whisky (for those who prefer smoky flavours)

Rum or gin (for those of you who don't want to use whisky)

How to make it:

1. Dust a plate with a thin coat of sugar, then rim the glass (or mug) with your slice of lemon to wet it.

2. Turn the glass upside down and place it into the sugar to dust the rim of the glass.

3. Turn upright and pour in the whisky (or rum or gin) and add your honey.

4. Add your boiling water, remember the more you add, the more you'll dilute the spirit, so this part might take a few goes to get your perfect amount. 100-150ml is usually about right.

5. Take a few of the cloves and stud them into one of the skins of the slices of lemon and add the slice to the glass.

6. Squeeze the juice from the remaining slice (the one you used to rim the glass) into the mix and stir.

Optional - Here you can add your extra cinnamon stick (great for stirring too) or your star anise.

Some people even recommend a wee hit of nutmeg - feel free to experiment with the spices for different flavours.

The professional version - Old Pulteney Hot Toddy Recipe

Highland single malt Old Pulteney has created their own salted honey twist on the much-loved classic.

Featuring a 12-year-old Scotch from the UK's most northerly shores and notes of salted honey, anise, baking spice and herbaceous backnotes, they say it is the perfect drink to cosy up in front of the fire with.

What you'll need to make the Old Pulteney Hot Toddy Recipe:

50ml Old Pulteney 12 Years Old

20ml Salty Hot Toddy Syrup - Salted honey, ginger, lemon zest, pepper corns, black breakfast tea

15ml lemon juice

100ml black breakfast tea⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

How to make it:

1. To make the syrup, add 100g of honey to a pot and heat it up. Watch for it to bubble away and eventually it'll start to go dark in colour as the sugars caramelise.

While you wait, make a cup of black tea and when the honey is nice and dark, add the tea along with some slices of ginger, lemon peel and a tbsp of peppercorns.

2. Simmer for about 20 minutes to allow it to infuse and take it off the heat and strain out.

When it's cooling, add in a good pinch of salt to taste.

3. Add 20ml of the syrup to the whisky and the lemon juice along with the 100ml of the black breakfast tea.

4. Enjoy!

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