I feel a sore throat coming on

[Ed Hamilton]

I grew up sipping grandma's whisky, honey and lemon, I think grandma found us easier to handle when we were under the influence of her cold medicine.

But now I'm a big kid and I'm out of whiskey so for this sore throat I poured some Foursquare Spiced Rum in some sweetened hot tea. Any other suggestions?

[NulloModo]

Bacardi 151 or Everclear... give it a couple shots and you just won't care about the throat anymore...

[Marlene]

Hot buttered rum?

[winesonoma]

Port or Sherry, stay away from high tannins.

[mongo_jones]

there are two excellent beverage based cures for sore throats--one is a good sidecar, and the other is masala tea with ginger and cardamom. and you could add some brandy to the masala tea too.

Edited December 21, 2004 by mongo_jones (log)

[helenjp]

I forget who put me up to this, but to the usual hot lemon grog, add a chili pod or two and a halved garlic clove.

The theory is that if you survive the medicine, the illness itself will be a mere trifle to the body's defenses...

NB. On no account swallow the garlic cloves whole, no matter what anybody tries to tell you. Doing so can lead to violent stomach cramps for up to 8 hours...

[jparrott]

I had a nasty scratchy throat one afternoon as I trudged into DC's Equinox restaurant between meetings. I told Mounir of my plight, and he mixed a shaken cocktail of Cuarenta y Tres, wild strawberry liqueur from Italy, and a bit of limoncello. Viscous, not too sweet, not too alcoholic. Damn near perfect.

[Splificator]

I grew up on Hot Buttered Rum but over the years have converted to that "grandma's whisky, honey and lemon" (aka Hot Toddy), which I've found to be the universal cure for whatever afflictions latch on to one between Halloween and Income Tax Day

For those who haven't made it, here's the best way I've found.

Heat a mug with boiling water; return the kettle to the stove.

Pour the water out and put in 1 cube of Demerara or other raw sugar (or 1 teaspoon loose sugar) and a long, wide strip of thin-cut lemon peel.

Add about an ounce of boiling water (returning the kettle to the stove) and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Tradition dictates a silver spoon be used here. No doubt it has therapeutic value of its own.

Add a good 2 ounces of single-malt Scotch whisky.*

Add another ounce or two of boiling water. Stir again, huddle over it to absorb the escaping alcohol and then drink.

Now go to bed.

*This is no time to economize: a blend is simply too thin to have the required effect (and besides, have you priced antibiotics lately? this way, you're actually saving money). As for which malt to use, it depends on the severity of the condition. In general, I like to be over-cautious here and use something like the cask-strength Laphroaig (I had a bottle of cask-strength Talisker once which I swear was like the Hippocratic Oath in a bottle). If the condition is mild, though, a mellower whisky will work fine.

If the grippe under which you're laboring was caught in the close proximity to salt water, it's both traditional and effective to substitute high-proof Navy Rum for the whisky. The Inner Circle 115-proof is quite effective, as is plain old Woods' Navy Rum or even Pusser's.

--DW

Written in haste, edited at leisure.

Edited December 21, 2004 by Splificator (log)

[JAZ]

Or you can skip the hot water and sugar and just sip a few ounces of Compass Box's Peat Monster. That worked for me.

[birder53]

there are two excellent beverage based cures for sore throats--one is a good sidecar, and the other is masala tea with ginger and cardamom. and you could add some brandy to the masala tea too.

←

Just drink the sidecar followed by the tea - with the extra shot of brandy, if needed!

[Rover]

Whiskey Mac - equal parts scotch and ginger wine ... with or without ice to your personal taste; almost worth having a sore throat.

Rover

[jsolomon]

Gargle with warm salt water ~ 1 Tablespoon per 8 ounces of water. Gargle for 30 seconds or more.

Then, drink whatever you would like as soon as the salt taste is out of your mouth.

[Jaymes]

Gargle with warm salt water ~ 1 Tablespoon per 8 ounces of water.  Gargle for 30 seconds or more.

And if you'll double the salt, and add about ten drops of iodine to kill those germs, and start gargling as soon as you feel the first tickle, you won't even GET the cold.

Edited December 26, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[Jaymes]

But now I'm a big kid and I'm out of whiskey so for this sore throat I poured some Foursquare Spiced Rum in some sweetened hot tea. Any other suggestions?

Yes. Go get some whiskey.

[chromedome]

Rum will work just fine (says the East Coaster). Doesn't even have to be overproof, if through some strange mischance you should be out of it.

So here's the skinny, as perfected in centuries of miserable Atlantic Canadian winters (the reason, after all, that Nova Scotians took to calling themselves "Blue-nosers"):

Start with a healthy shot (1 1/2-2 oz) of your rum of choice. You may substitute other spirits at your discretion, though I can't think of drinking a nice single malt any way other than neat. The purpose of the spirits is to loosen your clogged head, so don't be stingy.

Now add a healthy slice of lemon, which will give you a small shot of vitamin C to replace what the alcohol leaches from your system; and will leave you with a little bit left over as an added bonus.

Next, add a reasonable quantity of honey (not sugar or anything else) as your sweetener. This is not a gastronomic choice; honey acts topically to sooth your throat and is a mild cough suppressant.

Then add a nice fresh cinnamon stick, and (if you so desire) a small piece of fresh ginger and/or a whole clove. The essential oils of these spices all have proven antibacterial properties; and besides they taste good with rum and lemon.

Finally, top up your mug with boiling water and begin sipping as soon as you can manage. The heat of the water, which will no longer be boiling once it hits the rum and the cold mug, will liberate the essential oils from the spices and also bring the alcohol to the very cusp of a vapour state. Drinking the beverage, at this point, allows those alcohol vapours and essential spice oils to penetrate your nasal passages and sinuses as they leave your body.

One of these, consumed while very hot, will generally loosen one's head most satisfactorily. Two, combined with a hot bath, will generally break a low-grade fever. Three will ensure sleep that "knits up the ravel'd sleeve of care..."

[Jaymes]

Finally, top up your mug with boiling water and begin sipping as soon as you can manage.  The heat of the water, which will no longer be boiling once it hits the rum and the cold mug, will liberate the essential oils from the spices and also bring the alcohol to the very cusp of a vapour state.  Drinking the beverage, at this point, allows those alcohol vapours and essential spice oils to penetrate your nasal passages and sinuses as they leave your body. 

This description makes me almost want to get sick.

Almost.

[kitwilliams]

Get thee to a British Island (you must be near one or two!) and buy some LemSip. I love the stuff. A shot of anything added to it couldn't hurt either.

[madziast]

wow, can count on you guys to expand my remedy file, hahahahaaa

here's a cough syrup recipe, courtesy of Jack Daniel's great-grand niece: stick a candy cane into a bottle of Jack, it will dissolve in about an hour, at which point its ready. refrigerate and use as needed. haven't tried it yet myself but will at the next opportunity

[Jaymes]

Get thee to a British Island (you must be near one or two!) and buy some LemSip.  I love the stuff.  A shot of anything added to it couldn't hurt either.

One can just imagine the conversation with immigration:

"And the purpose for your visit, Sir?"

"Well," sniff sniff wheeze cough, "I have a code....."

[alacarte]

One of my Welsh friends swears by whiskey and milk.

[percyn]

All of these suggestions sound good....here is what I drank yesterday for my sore throat... Maple Syrup Eau-de-Vie

Cheers

Percy

[phaelon56]

I have no affiliation with the manufacturer or with the web site selling it (they are among many) but Throat Coat Tea is the best thing I've ever tried for a sore throat. It was recommended to me by a professional singer who'd experimented with every conceivable cure and swore by this one. It really, really works. BYOB - it does not contain alcohol

[FrenchWench]

It really, really works. BYOB - it does not contain alcohol 

←

WHAT!?!?!? No alcohol? Why would we even bother trying it? I thought the purpose of a liquid cure was to feel no pain.

[lmswartz]

Heat 2 ounces of Grand Marnier, then stir in a teaspoon or so of honey and some fresh squeezed lemon juice. Besides being delicious, it's a great cough suppressant and is easier on the throat than the whiskey/bourbon-honey-lemon concoction.

[Ed Hamilton]

Thanks for the input, since I wrote the original post, I've suffered from a couple of colds. I'm not used to the cold weather. I do believe honey is much better than other sugars, and the oils in cinnamon, clove and garlic are also beneficial. Rum is essential, though I do find the occasional single malt acceptable but not found in abundance in my liquor locker.

Hot is also a very important ingredient. And I always gargle with warm salt water as soon as I feel a sore throat coming on, followed by at least one rum remedy.