The Biayah Hot Toddy

The hot toddy is one of my favorite drinks for the winter season. I know February is still a chilly month for a lot of the country which makes this drink a wonderful choice, even if it isn’t quite so cold here in Texas. It’ll warm up your hands as you hold the mug and warm up your insides with a generous amount of alcohol. We’ve put our own twist on this classic drink, incorporating ginger tea and cognac in place of water and whiskey. I highly recommend making a full pot of tea and drinking these cocktails with your chosen family and friends.

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Our friendly neighborhood Spec’s <3 The bourbon and cognac aisle is definitely my friend.

The Frapin cognac is quite tasty! It’s smooth enough to be consumed straight but not so expensive as to make it silly to put in cocktails.

Our tea canister, the cutest kettle, and my favorite teapot in the whole house! The teapot holds 32oz of water and stays warm for hours.

The bright yellow and orange hues of the ginger turmeric tea are absolutely stunning. A word of caution: this tea stains EVERYTHING so be aware of what you’re setting it on and if you spill.

All of the ingredients laid out pretty: the cognac, lemon juice, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It’s a deceptively simple drink with a complex taste.

As you can see, the honey is quite thick so it’s important to put it in the hot tea before the other ingredients so it can melt in completely.

I find the organic lemon juices are a little more opaque and have a different mouth feel than other lemon juices from concentrate. No pressure tho, use the lemon juice you have!

The color of the cognac is rich and it’s ever so fragrant.

A little cinnamon…

…and the tiniest smidge of nutmeg!

Stir well and then have a lil sip. At this point, if it’s too sour or too sweet, you can adjust to taste. This is ultimately your drink so make sure you’re happy.

Enjoy!

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The Biayah Hot Toddy

Ingredients:

• ¾ Cup of Hot Ginger Tea

• 2 oz Cognac

• 3 tsp Raw Honey

• 2 tsp Lemon Juice

• Dash of Cinnamon

• Dash of Nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Brew ginger tea and separate ~¾ cup into a teacup. 

   1. We use Rishi loose leaf ginger turmeric tea and generally brew a full pot at a time. I highly recommend steeping for a little longer than the instructions say and use about half the amount of tea as instructed by Rishi which will result in a full bodied tea that has a real texture and can stand up to the lemon juice and honey. If using a tea that’s not Rishi brew as you see fit. We choose to use approximately half of the recommended tea because the leaves expand like crazy!

2. Add 3 tsp of raw honey. 

   1. I recommend adding the honey before adding the cognac or lemon juice so it can melt all the way into your tea. Organic raw honey gives the drink a little bit of toothsome goodness and can stand up to the cognac very well, however regular honey will do if you don’t have raw. Take liberty to adjust the honey amount once everything is mixed. You’ll ultimately be achieving a honeyed ginger tart flavor; don’t let the honey disappear. 

3. Add 2 tsp of lemon juice.

   1. Your choice of lemon juice is quite open. I’m a fan of the fancy organic stuff, but don’t let that stop you from indulging if all you have is the squeezy lemon juice from the produce section of the grocery store. This, like the honey, is customizable based on your taste. If you want more tart than sweet, this is your man. Make sure you’ve mixed everything together first before you decide to add any extra.

4. Add 2 oz of cognac. 

   1. Again, your choice of cognac here is fairly open. I don’t recommend bottom shelf liquor as the taste will overwhelm the delicate flavor of the ginger tea. We typically use Frapin Cognac Grande Champagne V.S.O.P. which is a good mid-range cognac that won’t break the bank, but is smooth enough to blend nicely into the drink.

5. Add a dash of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg.

   1. The key here is “less is more.” You don’t want to be drinking a gritty cocktail so don’t go crazy here. Just a smidge of cinnamon and a smidge of nutmeg, then stir well.

6. Taste and adjust as needed with extra lemon or honey, then enjoy while cozied up in a blanket!