Winter Medicinals

 

You were outside scraping ice off your car....you had to walk through the windy tundra of a parking lot to get to the grocery store or your doctor's office....you've been chattering teeth all day and you're catching a cold.....in other words, it's the dead of winter, and you're living through it. This is a time when you need pampering and comfort, not more austerity. 

Which is why dry January doesn't work for me. My body needs hot toddys, and other such medicinals. like hot buttered rum and mulled wine. People also rave about the therapeutic effects of hot chocolate with Chartreuse, which I haven't had yet in my life. 

Did you know that hot Dr. Pepper is also a thing?  Or it was. In the late 50's people started heating Dr. Pepper and mixing it with lemon and rum to create a cocktail called the "Schuss-Boomer", which was a term related to skiing. But the drink was enjoyed by anyone who was shivering enough to cook their can of soda.  I'm going to have to try it!  

But right now I'm more drawn to the whole hot buttered rum thing. I'm planning to kick off this coming weekend by mixing up a batch of the "butter batter" (softened butter, brown sugar, spices) that goes into the drink, only I'll be using it to make hot buttered whisky, since I don't have any rum. 

 Now you can make a non-alcoholic version with apple cider, if that's your jam, but I don't think it will have the same "warm your cockles" effect of the spiked stuff.  I did hear tell of a non-alcoholic spiced rum called RumISH from Denmark that is supposed to have some kick and fire. So there is that. 

Sitting around in a comfy robe sipping a hot toddy feels appropriate and dare I say, health conscious. Until it's spring. Which is why I need to do it now.