Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

I feel a sore throat coming on


Ed Hamilton

Recommended Posts

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?

Edward Hamilton

Ministry of Rum.com

The Complete Guide to Rum

When I dream up a better job, I'll take it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Port or Sherry, stay away from high tannins. :rolleyes:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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... :huh:

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...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Jake Parrott

Ledroit Brands, LLC

Bringing new and rare spirits to Washington DC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Splificator (log)

aka David Wondrich

There are, according to recent statistics, 147 female bartenders in the United States. In the United Kingdom the barmaid is a feature of the wayside inn, and is a young woman of intelligence and rare sagacity. --The Syracuse Standard, 1895

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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! :laugh:

KathyM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Jaymes (log)

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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..."

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 :biggrin:

Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin.

P.G. Wodehouse

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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....."

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Edward Hamilton

Ministry of Rum.com

The Complete Guide to Rum

When I dream up a better job, I'll take it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...