There is no denying we are in the depths of winter. You know, the dreaded “cold and flu” season. Even here in California, the night air is getting nippier, the days a bit shorter, and more than one person in my life is miserable and sniffly.

Gone are lazy afternoons drifting into sultry evenings– sipping tall glasses of iced tea, lemonade, or even frosty margaritas. Cool weather sees us choosing steamy mugs of coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, and dare I say–  hot toddies? 

I want you to know that the hot toddy is more than just a beverage with a funny name. You probably associate it with ski lodges. Hot toddies and ski lodges are indeed a good combination. But more likely, when winter rolls around, you consider the hot toddy as the original nighttime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine. Of course, I don’t know how much actual medical science is behind that theory, but I’ll admit a hot toddy can even make the flu seem more fun.

Basically a hot toddy is made with a spirit (typically some sort of whiskey) sweetened  with honey, and balanced with fresh lemon juice. This combination is then warmed with a dose of tea, coffee, apple cider, or just plain hot water.

My favorite version is made with honey, lemon, black tea, and bourbon. But rum and brandy are good choices too. Simple enough, right?

Now I am a pretty good cook– but like most of us I read recipes to get inspired. Good recipes are like good books, they're hard to put down. I particularly like recipes so magical that they transport me to exciting locations, rich with possibility. These are the recipes that excite me. These are the recipes I turn to on special occasions. But I'll tell you something. IRL, I don't always use recipes.

There are all sorts of reasons why I don't use recipes everyday. Sometimes I make a dish so many times that a recipe is just redundant. Other times I feel like getting my creative game on so I follow my instincts, just to see how good they are.

None of that means I think recipes are irrelevant IRL (in real life). If I thought that there would be very little room for this blog, any of the other blogs I read or even the 8 shelves of cookbooks that tower over each end of the desk where I peck away at this keyboard.

There are exceptions however. Too many to go into. Baking is often an exception. I usually follow pastry recipes or make only small (logical??) adaptations to them. I can't make good ice cream to save my life, unless I follow a recipe word for word and then make it twice. I blame that strict bugaboo known as science. It's always lurking– just hoping I lose the logarithm or invert the integers.

But cocktails can be an exception too. I often turn to my bartenders guide IRL even when making something as simple and familiar as a Manhattan. And I'm not sure why.