Construction

• Put one lemon slice, one cinnamon stick, three cloves and 1 tsp. of sugar in a mug. Pour in 1 oz. of boiling water. Let those ingredients steep for five minutes. The water will leach flavor from the ingredients and dissolve the sugar. Pour in bourbon. Use the cinnamon stick to stir.

Variations

• Popular variations of the hot toddy include the hot rum toddy. Substitute 1 1/2 oz. of dark Jamaican rum for the bourbon. Some recipes call for scotch whiskey instead of bourbon, and use lemon juice instead of a lemon. Another variation is to "stud" the lemons by forcing cloves into the rind.

The Category

• The Oxford English Dictionary defines a toddy as a drink made of spirits, sugar and spices. The Irish coffee is often considered a toddy. Other cocktails in this category include the hot buttered rum -- a rum toddy with a pat of butter melted into it. Mulled wine -- sugared wine heated with cloved apples or oranges -- also fits into this category.

Tibetan Hot Toddy

• For those with an adventurous spirit, Rinjing Dorje's "Food in Tibetan Life" introduces the Tibetan hot toddy. The Tibetan hot toddy is also known as the dongpa, and it is usually served in a wooden cup. The recipe is fairly complex. It involves fermenting about 6 cups of millet for three weeks. The result is a very grainy, unstrained beer. Heat it up, and pour in a wooden cup. Pour in one measure of hot water for every three measures of mash. Drink with a thin straw to strain out grains.