The method
How to make it
Warm your mug first with a rinse of hot water, then dump it. A toddy in a cold mug is half a toddy.
Spoon the honey into the warm mug so it loosens against the walls.
Add the whiskey and lemon juice.
Pour in the hot water, just off the boil, not at it, and stir until the honey lets go.
Drop in the cinnamon stick and let it steep as you drink.
A lemon wheel studded with a couple of cloves floats on top if you are feeling ceremonial.
The serve
How to present it
A mug with a handle, steam rising, cinnamon stick leaning like a rower's oar. Serve it to someone under a blanket for full effect. This is less a cocktail than a small act of care with whiskey in it.
Make it yours
Swaps & variations
Bourbon makes it rounder and sweeter, dark rum takes it to the islands in January. A bag of black tea steeped in the water first adds backbone. Under the weather for real? Double the honey and lemon, halve the whiskey, and accept that sleep is the actual medicine.
Keep pouring
