Hot toddy
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- For the beverage made from the sap of various species of palm tree, see palm wine.
Hot toddy is a name given to a mixed drink that is served hot. Although it originated in Scotland, there are many variations; the essential elements are as follows:
- a spirit base such as brandy, rum or whisky.
- hot liquid — hot tea, coffee, cocoa, water, etc.
- a sweetener, such as honey, sugar or syrup.
Other ingredients that are not necessary, though common:
- spices, generally "brown" spices such as cinnamon or cloves.
- citrus, such as lemon or orange.
- lemonade can also be used instead of hot water and citrus; this is a modern variant.
Hot toddies (such as mulled cider) are traditionally considered appropriate for relaxing in the evening before retiring, or following exposure to severe weather. Hot toddies were traditionally believed to have a curative effect on colds or flu.
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[edit] Etymology
It has been generally supposed that the name was introduced into Scotland by some retired member of the British East India Company, from toddy, a juice extracted from various species of palm trees, especially from the cocos nocifera, which, when fermented and distilled, is known as arrack. Arrack was a popular drink in the southern Indian state of Kerala, although recently it has been banned from being served.
In Allan Ramsay's poem, The Morning Interview, published in 1721, there occurs a description of a sumptuous entertainment, or tea party, in which it is said that
- "All the rich requisites are brought from far: the table from Japan, the tea from China, the sugar from Amazonia, or the West Indies, but that
- 'Scotia does no such costly tribute bring,
- Only some kettles full of Todian spring.'"
To this passage, Ramsay has appended the note —
- "The Todian spring, i.e. Tod's Well, which supplies Edinburgh with water."
Tod's Well and St Anthony's Well, on the side of Arthur's Seat were two of the wells which very scantily supplied the wants of Edinburgh, and when it is borne in mind that whisky derives its name from water (the Scottish Gaelic term uisge), it seems more likely that "Toddy" in like manner was a facetious name for the pure element. The late Robert Chambers, when Charles MacKay propounded this etymology to him, at first rejected the idea, but afterwards adopted it on the strength of Allan Ramsay's poem.
[edit] The Bronze Bell
The archetypic hot toddy context is described in Louis Joseph Vance's 1909 novel The Bronze Bell:
- ...the stranger at the door was aware of a slight jarring as though some more than ordinarily brutal gust of wind had shaken the house upon its foundation... the door swung wide. A flood of radiance together with a gust of heated air struck him in the face. Dazzled, he reeled across the threshold.
- The man before him stepped quickly forward and with two strong hands clasped his shoulders. ... "Sit down." He swung Amber about, gently guiding him to a chair. "You look pretty well done up. How long have you been out in this infernal night? But never mind answering; I can wait. Doggott!"
- "Yes, sir."
- "Take Mr. Amber's coat and boots and bring him my dressing-gown and slippers."
- "Yes, sir."
- "And a hot toddy and something to eat — and be quick about it."
- "Very good, sir."
[edit] See also
- Tamagozake, the traditional Japanese cold cure, using heated sake.
[edit] Reference
- MacKay, Charles — A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch (1888)
[edit] External links
- The Bronze Bell, available at Project Gutenberg.
- — Scottish Hot Toddy Recipe
