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Lingonberry Hot Toddy

Lingonberry Hot Toddy
A hot toddy is a great way to warm you up on a cold winter evening or to help soothe your throat when you have a cold. It’s a hot cocktail that is typically made with a combination of honey, hot water and a spirit, such as whisky, rum or brandy. All kinds of other elements, such as citrus, tea and spices, can be added to those basic ingredients to make a very warm and satisfying winter beverage. This particular Lingonberry Hot Toddy recipe boasts a wonderful flavor and an even more memorable red color that makes it particularly festive for the holidays!

The base of the drink is bourbon, lemon juice, honey and hot water – a classic hot toddy ingredient list – and I added lingonberry concentrate to the mix. Lingonberries are tart berries from Northern Europe and Scandanavia that are frequently cooked down to make jams and syrups. Not unlike cranberries, they’re particular popular around the holidays and appear in many Scandanivian Christmas recipes. I picked up a bottle of lingonberry concentrate at Ikea on a recent visit. The sweetened syrup uses fresh lingonberry juice and is intensely flavored because it is meant to be reconstituted with water. It works well as a syrup in this toddy, but if you are using a diluted version of the juice, I recommend increasing the lingonberry to 1 oz.

This recipe is scaled to make one hot toddy, which means it is perfect for treating yourself. It is a very good party drink, however, because it can be prepared in advance and stored in an insulated carafe. The recipe can easily be scaled up from here if you need to serve a crowd. When serving, don’t forget the cinnamon stick because the little bit of spice that it contributes to the drink makes all the difference.

Lingonberry Hot Toddy
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lingonberry concentrate
2 tsp honey
4 oz boiling water
1 1/2 oz bourbon
cinnamon stick

In a mug, combine lemon juice, lingonberry concentrate, honey and water. Stir to dissolve honey. Add in bourbon and cinnamon stick, stirring the hot drink with the cinnamon stick to combine everything. Garnish with a lemon slice and serve.

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1 Comment
  • Bridget
    December 25, 2016

    This looks delicious! You can sometimes also find other fruit syrups at Ikea or Scandinavian stores…the Onos brand is great, and the bottles are my absolute favorite for reuse (they have a plastic lip that’s perfect for dispensing syrup).

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