Our favorite hot toddy recipe calls for whiskey or bourbon, fresh lemon, and honey. It’s warm, cozy, soothing, and incredibly easy to make.
When the temperatures drop, we love mixing up a hot toddy! If you’ve never had one, it’s a classic warm cocktail made with whiskey and hot water.
For our version, we keep things simple but add a few small twists that make it extra special. A squeeze of fresh lemon, honey for sweetness, and we love to swap the traditional hot water for tea, which adds even more flavor. Plus, we add a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar, which makes such a difference!
Key Ingredients
- Dark Liquor: Use brandy, whiskey, dark rum, or bourbon. The best liquor for a hot toddy is one you actually like the flavor of. When we make these at home, we usually go for bourbon or a dark rum.
- Hot Water or Hot Tea: These are usually made with hot water, but we love tea instead. Trust me on this one. We’ve tested a few options over the years and landed on three favorites: black tea, chamomile, and ginger tea.
- Honey or Maple Syrup: I especially love honey for this recipe, but maple syrup works really well if that’s more your thing.
- Lemon: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor. Orange is really lovely, too!
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Our secret ingredient for the best hot toddy! A tiny bit of apple cider vinegar makes these so tasty. Adam came up with the idea after trying a hot toddy at a small bar in Seattle that used a shrub (a fruit-and-vinegar syrup).
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make a Hot Toddy
Tip 1: Warm your cup. Since this is a hot cocktail, keeping your mug warm makes a big difference. Just like chilling a martini glass, we heat the mug first. Pour in some boiling water, let it sit for a minute, then pour it out before making your drink. This helps your toddy stay hotter for longer.
Tip 2: Brew the tea. If you’re using tea instead of plain hot water, brew it now. I love chamomile, and Adam prefers black tea, but both work beautifully. Steep for 3 to 4 minutes, then remove the tea bag. Note that these made with water are already really delicious, the tea is optional and simply adds a bit more flavor.
Tip 3: Make the cocktail. To your warmed mug, add your hot tea (or water), honey or maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Stir until the sweetener dissolves, then pour in your liquor. Give it another gentle stir and enjoy while it’s steaming hot.
How to Make a Hot Toddy for a Cold?
My grandmother swears by a hot toddy for colds, but when we’re under the weather, we skip the alcohol. We still make our usual recipe, just without the whiskey or rum. A mix of hot water (or tea), lemon, honey, and a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar is soothing, hydrating, and feels wonderful on a sore throat. I especially love swapping the hot water for chamomile tea.
More Cocktails
Easy Hot Toddy
- COOK
- TOTAL
My favorite hot toddy recipe works well with most dark liquors, but I especially love dark rum or bourbon.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ounce dark rum or bourbon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon pure honey
¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar, optional
¼ cup hot water or brewed tea
Lemon slice
Directions
1Warm the mug: Pour boiling water in the mug, let it sit for a minute, then pour it out before making your cocktail.
2Make the cocktail: Put honey, lemon juice, and the apple cider vinegar in a warmed mug. Add hot water or hot tea and stir until the honey has dissolved. Add the rum or bourbon, stir then finish with a lemon slice.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Apple cider vinegar: The acid from the apple cider vinegar brings out all the flavors of the toddy without making it taste too sweet. The drink tastes great without it as well, but if you have cider vinegar in your pantry, give it a try.
- Tea: We’ve tried chamomile, ginger and even a black tea before. All were nice, but the black tea really stood out as a favorite (especially with dark rum).
- Hot toddy mocktail: Make the recipe as stated above, but leave out the rum. This drink as a mocktail is delicious!
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Fantastic recipe, I’m not really a drinker so I was pleased that I wasn’t able to taste the alcohol. Fighting a head cold and this went down way too smoothly lol.c
Wow! I enjoyed this recipe so much it made me rave to my partner how good it was. Apple cider vinegar is so good for your health anyway however, it was the best drink for a cold with all the ingredients added. I think I have asthma…but it was really soothing. Thank you so much. Loved loved loved it!!
This is amazing! The ratios are just right. I was hesitant to add the acv, but my goodness, that really mellowed out the toddy. I just wanted something warm since it’s zero degrees outside with snow on the way. Definitely putting this in my recipe box!
How does this ONLY HAVE 30 REVIEWS?! I’ve been making these for years now, and I’ve never had one this amazing before! The apple cider vinegar is the missing key to mellow out the whisky burn on a sore throat! I hope I get sick more often… 😏
OMG 😯 this is the Tee!!!!!!!! Love Love Love Love it 😍
Thanks for the ideas! I used ginger and black tea with raw honey, Meyer lemon, and cognac. Sadly I have covid, so zero aromas are getting through. I made two cups, one with and one without the apple cider vinegar. For me, the sans-vinegar was the winner. Both went right down the chute though; and then I rested without coughing. Thanks again this was a fun diversion.
Your post was one year ago today! I hope that you were able to fight off COVID! It’s a tough experience. I had it twice! Sending you healing and healthy vibes. I’m so happy that something made you feel better.
Helpful recipes! Great for when you have a cold or Sinus issues.
Highly recommend this recipe! I used Goslings dark rum, hot water and I definitely encourage adding the apple cider vinegar for a savvy, flavorful touch. Tonight I’ll make it with Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Thank you!
I had my doubts but this is amazing! I made mine with plain hot black tea, honey, lemon juice, the recommended apple cider vinegar, and gosling’s black seal rum. Very flavorful and warming, perfect for the upcoming holidays.
Made these last night with Decaf Constant Comment tea, fresh lemon juice, local honey, the apple cider vinegar, and dark rum. I made most with 1 oz of rum and mine with a 1/3 of an oz – both were so, so yummy. Thumbs up from even the doubters (husband doesn’t like lemon typically) . The tea has some extra spices in it, which I think added some nice additional depth.. would definitely recommend trying this and I’ll absolutely plan to make again.
I’m definitely going to make myself one of these tonight, and I do have apple cider vinegar on hand. I have a cold with sore throat. This sounds like it will be so soothing!
Thank you for this recipe! I made ours with chamomile tea, whisky, lemon, and honey. I did my husbands without apple cider vinegar and mine with just a little bit of it. And I have to say, wow the apple cider vinegar, even a little, was better! It really brought out all the flavors! So cozy on a chilly fall night and soothing with the sniffles!
Thanks for the video. We don’t have them in Australia but in America tv shows talk about them so I wanted to make myself. Thank you :).
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thanks for sharing, I’m definitely going to try this tonight. I’ve been so sick, with asthma, bronchitis, real congested.
Work’s wonderful
I has thinking about making this for my family christmas party on the 19th using the dark rum, and using apple cider flavored tea what do all think?
This tastes good.
Tried this with my housemates just a bit ago so we didn’t have to turn on the heater on this chilly night. Totally hit the spot. Feeling warm and toasty now! Perfect! Thank you! Used Maker’s Mark bourbon.
Delicious and soothing. By all means try the splash of vinegar! I was gifted with some blackberry/gingervinegar, so tried that … to die for! My spirit of choice was Capt.
Morgan’s Spiced Rum… nice! Thank you for this keeper of a recipe.
Made this for my hubby minus the apple cider vinegar, he feels better almost imediately. Thanks so much
good! Thanks for recipe
Delicious! I made it with Earl Grey tea, and it was PERFECT.
Do you have to use alcohol in a hot toddy. I try to stay away from alcohol
If you don’t have alcohol in it it doesn’t do anything. You need the devils brew in it to chase that ailment away…
You can leave it out.
I use chamomile tea and it was tasty will see if it works good night hopefully
Camomile tea will do squat Connie. Bourbon is the magic juice.
I have bad bronchitis and needed something to help loosen the phlegm in my chest and thought of my childhood when mama would use shine whiskey with peppermint dissolved in it and put it on a teaspoon on sugar for cough syrup…it worked , so I thought of a hot toddy and found your recipe…it is great…
Tried your recipe was great hopefully it makes me feel better
I tried it with American Honey because that’s what I had, and I used chai because it has cinnamon and cloves and ginger in it already. It was good and soothed my scratchy throat.
Sounds like nice recipes by everyone, I go with the Jack Daniels Tennessee Fire, fresh real lemon squeeze, a pinch of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, Organic ACV, Organic Honey and sometimes some peppermint tea. I really like @Johnna post, I’m going to go try the Tazo Cinnamon Spice Today. I just wish TAZO made their tea in kcups lol
OMG adding the apple cider vinegar is FABULOUS! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
A delightful take on this age-old drink is using cinnamon whiskey with the lemon and sweetener. It really adds another layer of warmth and it’s delicious. Made it tonight while reading this page. It is great for relaxing and soothing cold symptoms in the winter!
This made me feel much better and will use again when needed
This recipe is fabulous, the taste was awesome, i give it 5 stars!!!!??
I made this with stash lemon ginger decaf tea and added Jim Beam honey Kentucky straight Bourbon whiskey and the Apple cider vinegar.
Delicious! I skip the lemon because it was in the tea and I skipped the honey because it was in the bourbon. Tasted delicious to me !!!
Have had a cold for a couple days and needed something warm and soothing. Found your recipe and I’m in love!! I don’t really like honey too much but this was perfect. I tasted my Makers Mark, dark rum and brandy before I made it thinking that would be the primary flavor and settled on brandy. The honey’s not too sweet, the alcohol isn’t overpowering and I’ve found another use for the lemons I’m getting from my tree right now. I used the ACV and I don’t taste it so I guess that’s a good thing. Will be adding this to my recipe box. Thanks!