For the nights when the narrator is doing all the talking.
I am currently listening to Speak by Ruby M Darling, book one of the Rayne-Moore University duet, narrated by Heather Firth and Joe Arden. It is duet narration, which is the only audiobook format I properly get on with, and it means I can sit in the dark with a warm mug and let somebody else carry the entire evening. Dark academia, a secret society, an elite university full of people behaving appallingly. It is very much a winter book, and it is very much winter here.
So this week the drink is a hot toddy. Whisky, honey, lemon and hot water in a warmed mug, with a clove-studded lemon wheel and a cinnamon stick doing the heavy lifting on atmosphere. It is the correct audiobook drink for exactly one reason: it needs one hand, it stays warm for ages, and you never have to look at it. Headphones on, mug up, nothing required of you at all.
I have included a full alcohol-free version too, which is genuinely good rather than a consolation prize, because honey, lemon and spice were always the point. This one pairs perfectly with Wax Seal Baked Brie for a proper dark academia reading night.
A note on this one: Speak is a dark why choose romance carrying significant content warnings, including sexual trauma in the backstory and consent that is deliberately murky throughout. I am not going to be cute about that. Check Ruby M Darling’s own content warnings and your own comfort level before you start it. If it is not your book, this toddy is excellent over something a great deal gentler.
What you will need
Makes 1 mug (scale up easily for book club, see the notes).
Say Nothing Hot Toddy
- 45ml whisky (a soft blended Scotch or a bourbon, see the notes)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 15ml fresh lemon juice
- 150ml hot water, not boiling
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon wheel studded with 3 whole cloves
- 1 star anise, optional, mostly for the look
Say Nothing alcohol-free toddy
- 150ml hot, strong black tea, or chamomile for something softer
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 15ml fresh lemon juice
- 30ml non-alcoholic whisky alternative, optional but it adds real backbone
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon wheel studded with 3 whole cloves
- 1 star anise, optional
Method
Step 1: Warm the mug first
Fill your mug or heatproof glass with hot water from the tap, leave it for a minute, then tip it out. This is a ten second job that most people skip, and it is the difference between a drink that stays hot for half a chapter and one that stays hot for three.
Step 2: Honey and lemon first
Add the honey and lemon juice to the warm mug and stir until the honey has properly dissolved. Doing this before anything else goes in is the only reliable way to avoid a thick untouched layer of honey sitting at the bottom of the mug at the end.
Step 3: Add the whisky
For the toddy: pour in the whisky and give it a quick stir through the honey and lemon.
For the alcohol-free version: add the non-alcoholic whisky alternative now if you are using one, otherwise go straight to the next step and let the tea do the work.
Step 4: Top with hot water, never boiling
Boil the kettle, then let it sit for a minute or two before you pour, so the water is hot rather than furious. You want somewhere around 80°C. Boiling water scorches the honey, flattens the lemon and burns off the good aromatics in the whisky, which is most of what you paid for. Top with the hot water or the hot tea and stir once.
Step 5: Garnish and go
Push three cloves through a lemon wheel and drop it in, add the cinnamon stick and the star anise if you are using it, and leave it for a minute before the first sip so the spice has a chance to open up. Then take it somewhere dark with your headphones.
Cosy Kitchen Notes
Hot, not boiling, is the whole recipe. If you take one thing from this, take that. A toddy made with boiling water tastes harsh and slightly burnt, and people generally blame the whisky. Let the kettle stand a minute or two first.
Which whisky. A soft blended Scotch is the classic and the safest bet. Bourbon makes it rounder and sweeter, which works nicely with the honey. Save the expensive peated single malt, because everything delicate about it disappears the moment it meets hot water and cloves.
Honey is not just sweetener here. It gives the drink its body, so a darker honey makes a noticeably richer toddy. If yours has gone solid, warm the jar in a bit of hot water rather than fighting it with a spoon.
Stud the lemon, do not just float it. Pushing the cloves through the lemon wheel keeps them from drifting into your mouth on the last mouthful, and it looks properly deliberate sitting in the mug.
Make it for book club. Warm a teapot, then build the whole batch inside it: honey, lemon juice and whisky in the pot, topped with hot water, with the cinnamon and cloves left to steep. It holds heat far better than a jug and everyone can top up their own mug without you standing at the kettle all night.
Sober-curious swap. Strong black tea is the best stand-in because the tannins give you the grip the whisky would have. Chamomile makes a much gentler, sleepier version, which is arguably the better call if you are listening in bed.
Quick answers
What is a hot toddy?
A hot toddy is a warm cocktail built from a spirit, honey, lemon juice and hot water, usually spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Whisky is the traditional base. It dates back a couple of centuries and has survived essentially unchanged because there is not much to improve on.
Does a hot toddy actually help a cold?
It helps you feel better without doing anything to the illness itself. The warm liquid, honey and lemon genuinely soothe a sore throat and loosen things up, which is why the drink has the reputation it does. The whisky is not medicine, and alcohol can actually worsen dehydration and disrupt sleep when you are unwell, so the alcohol-free version is the more sensible choice if you are genuinely sick. This is a cocktail with a nice story attached, not medical advice.
What is the best whisky for a hot toddy?
A mid-range blended Scotch or a bourbon. You want something smooth with a bit of sweetness, not something delicate or heavily peated, because hot water and spice will roll straight over the subtleties. This is not the drink to open the good bottle for.
Can you make a hot toddy without alcohol?
Yes, and it holds up better than most alcohol-free swaps. Build it on strong hot black tea instead of water, keep the honey, lemon and spices exactly the same, and add a non-alcoholic whisky alternative if you have one. The full version is in the ingredients above.
The Last Sip
The Say Nothing Hot Toddy takes about three minutes, most of which is waiting for the kettle to calm down. Honey, lemon, whisky and spice in a warm mug, built for a cold night and a book that has taken over your evening entirely.
Pour one for your next dark academia read, or set it down next to a wheel of Wax Seal Baked Brie for the full reading night spread. Full pairing lives on the Saturday Night Sip, Snack & Smut page.
Say nothing. Someone else is doing the talking tonight.
