Cold Cure

The cold virus must be the greatest blight on the human race. You feel awful, but without even generating the sympathetic payoff derived from other ailments, because everyone gets colds. Then, as soon as you recover, your friends catch it and expect you to be all concerned and helpful, like no-one ever got a cold before. Having been resentfully consigned to bed-rest for what seems like the foreseeable future, I've devoted my few remaining energies towards cheating my way back to health through doses of paracetamol, exotic tinctures and the odd spot of voodoo.  Now as a great man once noted, alcohol is, "the cause of and solution to all of life's problems". On that unimpeachable logic, here are some handy and tasty restoratives. Who knows, they might even work.

Rum Toddy


2-3 shots overproof Jamaican rum
3/4 shot lemon or lime juice
1/2 shot honey
Dash sherry
Dash boiling water
2 dash angostura bitters
1 dash clove tincture.
Cinnamon stick to stir

Assemble in a rocks glass and grate nutmeg on top

Reversed Islay Nail


2 shots Drambuie
1 shot Islay scotch
3 dash Peychaud's bitters

Stir without ice in a rocks glass and express a lemon twist over the drink.

Old Restorative


2.5 shots Appleton Estate rum
1/2 shot sage and honey syrup
Dash ginger juice or small slice of ginger
2 dash orange bitters
1 dash angostura bitters
Dash cold water

Stir, stir, stir.


Finally here's something sleek and elegant to enjoy once you've recovered to full health, a spin on the modern classic Red Hook:

Off the Hook

2 shots Rittenhouse Bonded
3/4 shot Punt e Mes
1 barspoon shot Amaro Ramazotti
1 barspoon Luxardo Maraschino
2 dash Xocolatl bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with cherry.