6 Cocktails To Relieve Your Cold Symptoms
We all know a good cocktail can make you feel better about, say, a nasty breakup or losing your job. But little did we know that some drinks even have the power to make us actually physically feel better — as in after a cold or a bad bout of the flu.
Yes, finally a cocktail that will actually reverse the symptoms of a common hangover! And it’s not just one, but seven cocktails that can relieve your sinus pressure, sore throat, headaches, and more.
So the next time you’ve got a case of the sniffles, go ahead and mix up one of these boozy cures. Trust us, you’ll be feeling good in more ways than one.
Hot Toddy
Photo: Epicurious
This classic cold weather drink is like booze for the soul. Warming bourbon mixed with honey, lemon, and hot water make this the cure-all cocktail for normal cold symptoms: chest cold, runny nose, even problems sleeping! The Hot Toddy has got you covered.
Ingredients
1 oz (2 tablespoons) bourbon
1 tablespoon mild honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup boiling-hot water
Preparation
Put bourbon, honey, and lemon juice in a 6-ounce mug. Top off with hot water and stir until honey is dissolved.
Bran’s Dram
Photo: Bon Appetit
Besides having the coolest name, um, ever, Bran’s Dram is one of the most warming cocktails imaginable. If the spicy rum doesn’t do it for you, the hot, berry tea certainly will. Lemon and honey again join forces to make this a highly effective cure for the common cold or cold-like symptoms. Winter is coming, friends, drink up.
Ingredients
1 bag berry herbal tea
1½ oz. white rum
¼ oz. fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 lemon twist
Preparation
Steep tea bag in a mug with 6 oz. hot water, 2–3 minutes; discard tea bag and stir in rum, lemon juice, and honey. Garnish with lemon twist.
Old Irish Cure
Photo: Food and Wine
Big shocker here: whiskey is involved. More specifically, Jameson is involved. It all makes sense now, doesn’t it? This traditional Irish drink has been served as an umbrella elixir for centuries, but it wasn’t until recent years that dark, spicy rum was added to the mix. Traditionally, according to barman Sean Muldoon, Irish people have been drinking whiskey, honey, and ginger together for centuries to cure everything from sniffles to severe illnesses.
Ingredients
Ice
1 1/3 ounces Irish whiskey, preferably Jameson
1/3 ounce dark rum
2 1/2 teaspoons Calvados
1/3 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce cane syrup or Rich Simple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon honey mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ginger Juice
Dash of Angostura bitters
1 thin apple slice, for garnish
Preparation
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the apple slice garnish and shake well. Strain the drink into a chilled cup and garnish with the apple slice.
Winter’s Truce
Photo: Bon Appetit
Exactly what you’ve always wanted: a truce with winter. Only instead of a mutual agreement that the season will get its shit together and stop being so damn cold, what you get is a spiced drink that will knock those shivers right out of you. Use of fresh ginger to relax a troubled tummy and echinacea extract mixed with whiskey is an amazing cure for a sore throat.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon honey
½ ounce green Chartreuse liqueur
½ unaged grappa (such as Nardini) or other white spirit (such as white whiskey)
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce liquid echinacea extract
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 cinnamon stick
Preparation
Bring ginger, honey, and 6 oz. water to a simmer in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve honey; remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes. Combine Chartreuse, grappa, lemon juice, echinacea extract, and bitters in a warm mug; strain ginger infusion into mug. Garnish with cinnamon stick.
Whiskey Chai
Photo: Food and Wine
Tea lovers, rejoice! There’s now a delicious (and not at all weird) way to combine warm chai and your favorite bourbon or rye whiskey. Is this not what you’ve all been waiting for? This drink has some tantalizing elements of both spicy and sweet, and while it’s been known to soothe sinus issues, it’s also just a great way to warm up in the cold weather.
Ingredient
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
20 black peppercorns
16 whole cloves
8 cardamom pods, seeds removed from the pod
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 quart whole milk
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon loose black tea
3 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey
Preparation
1 . In spice grinder, pulse all of the spices to a powder.
2. In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Add the spices, sugar and tea and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Return the chai to the saucepan and rewarm over moderate heat. Stir in the whiskey and serve hot.
Flor de Puebla
Photo: Bon Appetit
Translated, the name means “flower populates,” which we’re assuming is because of the chiles and herbal tea used in the cocktail. By the way, you read that right; there’s burning hot chiles in this beverage. No amount of lime juice or soothing green tea can take the kick out of this tequila drink, so we suggest this cocktail for spice-lovers only. If you’re up for the challenge, you’ll find just a serving of Flor de Puebla will cure you of your worst sinus congestion and your fiercest colds.
Ingredients
1 bag green tea, preferably Hojicha
½ Fresno chile, with seeds, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon honey
1 ounce Drambuie
1 ounce tequila resposado (such as Pueblo Viejo)
½ ounce fresh lime juice
¼ ounce Brancamenta (mint liqueur)
1 lime slice
Preparation
Steep tea bag in a heatproof glass measuring cup or mug with 6 oz. hot water 2–3 minutes, adding chile during the last minute, then stir in honey. Combine Drambuie, tequila, lime juice, and Brancamenta in a warm mug. Strain tea into mug; discard tea bag and chile. Garnish with lime slice.
