Hot toddy

Every drink at a glance

Per mug as written below. A standard drink is 14 g of alcohol. Tap a drink for its recipe.

1. Classic hot toddy 172 18g 1
2. Apple cider hot toddy 173 15g 1
3. Rum hot toddy 139 9.3g 1
4. Honey-lemon toddy (no alcohol) 53 12g 0
5. Hot toddy with black tea 150 12g 1

Hot toddy recipes, with the math

Spirits are 80 proof, the legal minimum for US whiskey and rum; a 90 proof bottle adds about 12 calories per 1½ oz. One mug is one serving. ABV is the drink as poured.

Does a hot toddy help a cold?

Partly. The parts that may ease symptoms are the heat, the honey and the hot water; the whiskey is the part that works against you. None of it is a cure: the NHS says most people start to feel better in 1 to 2 weeks. Here is each part against the evidence.

• The heat

  May ease symptoms

  In a trial with 30 people who had a cold or flu, a hot fruit drink gave immediate and lasting relief from a runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore throat, chills and tiredness. The same drink at room temperature helped only the runny nose, cough and sneezing. Measured nasal airflow did not change, and the authors discuss placebo as part of the explanation.

  Sanu and Eccles 2008, A hot drink and cold and flu symptoms (Rhinology 46:271)

• The honey

  May ease symptoms

  A review of 14 studies found honey beat usual care for how often and how hard people coughed with an upper respiratory infection, and for overall symptom scores. The NHS suggests a hot lemon and honey drink for a sore throat. Honey is not safe for babies under 12 months.

  Abuelgasim et al. 2021, Honey for upper respiratory infections, 14 studies (BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine) · NHS, Common cold (reviewed March 2024)

• The hot water

  Recommended

  The NHS advice for a cold is rest and plenty of fluid, such as water, to avoid dehydration. A mug of hot water counts toward that.

  NHS, Common cold (reviewed March 2024)

• The lemon

  Little evidence

  Mostly flavor. The NHS says there is little evidence that supplements such as vitamin C prevent colds or help you get better more quickly, and the ¾ oz of juice in a mug has about 9 mg of vitamin C (USDA: 38.7 mg per 100 g).

  NHS, Common cold (reviewed March 2024) · USDA FoodData Central 167747, Lemon juice, raw

• The whiskey

  Works against you

  The studies above tested a hot fruit drink and honey, not alcohol. Alcohol makes the kidneys pass more water, the opposite of what a cold calls for, and it fragments sleep. Drinking a lot on one occasion slows the body’s ability to fight off infection for up to 24 hours afterward.

  NIAAA, Hangovers (2025) · NIAAA, Alcohol's effects on the body

• With cold medicine

  Do not mix

  NIAAA lists cold, flu, allergy and cough medicines (diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, dextromethorphan and others) as causing drowsiness and dizziness with alcohol, with a higher risk of overdose. Acetaminophen with alcohol risks liver damage; ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin with alcohol risk stomach upset, bleeding and ulcers. Some cough syrups contain alcohol themselves.

  NIAAA, Harmful interactions: mixing alcohol with medicines

So if you are sick, the honey-lemon toddy keeps everything that may help and drops the part that does not: 53 calories, no alcohol. If you do have the whiskey, make it one, have water alongside, and skip it entirely if you have taken a cold or flu medicine.

Hot toddy calories: the whiskey and the honey

Two ingredients carry almost all of it. In the classic, 1½ oz of 80 proof whiskey is 98 calories, all from alcohol, and 1 tbsp of honey is 69 calories and 17 g of sugar (USDA weighs a tablespoon at 21 g). The lemon adds 5; the hot water, nothing.

• Bourbon98 cal
• Honey69 cal
• Fresh lemon juice5 cal
• Hot water0 cal

Which sweetener

The same classic toddy, with each sweetener in place of the tablespoon of honey. A tablespoon of honey carries more sugar than a tablespoon of maple syrup, and the sugar versions need only 2 teaspoons, so they cut the most.

• 1 tbsp honey (the classic) 172 18g
• 1 tbsp maple syrup 157 12g
• 2 tsp brown sugar 139 9.3g
• 2 tsp granulated sugar 136 8.7g
• 1½ tsp honey 137 9g
• No sweetener 103 0.4g

Honey, maple syrup and sugars from USDA FoodData Central by their own spoon weights (honey 21 g, maple syrup 20 g, packed brown sugar 4.6 g and granulated sugar 4.2 g per teaspoon). For the bottles themselves, see lowest calorie alcohol and lowest sugar alcohol.

How strong is a hot toddy?

Each spiked toddy here is one US standard drink, about 14 g of pure alcohol: the same as 1½ oz of 80 proof spirit, a 5 oz glass of 12% wine or a 12 oz beer (NIAAA). Spread through a mug of hot water, that comes to 8.9% to 9.7% alcohol, between beer and wine.

• Beer 12 oz is 1 standard drink 5.0%
• Apple cider hot toddy 1 standard drink per 6.8 oz mug 8.9%
• Classic hot toddy 1 standard drink per 6.5 oz mug 9.2%
• Hot toddy with black tea 1 standard drink per 6.3 oz mug 9.5%
• Rum hot toddy 1 standard drink per 6.2 oz mug 9.7%
• Wine 5 oz is 1 standard drink 12.0%

The hot water does not cook off the alcohol

The whiskey goes into water that has already come off the boil, which USDA's retention table puts at 85% of the alcohol kept. Only long simmering removes much of it:

• Stirred into a hot liquid off the heat: a hot toddy85%
• Flamed75%
• Simmered 15 minutes40%
• Simmered 30 minutes35%
• Simmered 1 hour25%
• Simmered 2 hours10%
• Simmered 2½ hours5%

Source: USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007). The numbers on this page count all of the alcohol, the safer assumption.

A warm drink goes down easily, so pace it like any other. Eat first, since food slows how fast alcohol is absorbed, stay near one drink an hour, about what the body can process, and have water between mugs (Cleveland Clinic). Every recipe here has a lighter or zero-proof version for the second round.

The best whiskey for a hot toddy, by the numbers

Any whiskey works, and so do aged rum and brandy. Plain spirits have no carbohydrate (USDA), so at the same proof the choice changes the flavor, not the calories. What does differ is congeners: darker spirits tend to carry more, which may worsen a hangover (NIAAA). Our Hangover Index scores each type from 1 to 10; each row links to its cleanest bottles.

• Irish Whiskey Hot toddy with black tea Lighter, smoother, often triple distilled Lighter, smoother, often triple distilled
  6/10
• Canadian Whisky Light blends, with flavouring allowed Light blends, with flavouring allowed
  6/10
• Bourbon Classic hot toddy, Apple cider hot toddy American oak, corn-led, congener-rich American oak, corn-led, congener-rich
  7/10
• Tennessee Whiskey Bourbon rules plus a charcoal filter Bourbon rules plus a charcoal filter
  7/10
• Scotch Aged, peated, complex chemistry Aged, peated, complex chemistry
  7/10
• Rum Rum hot toddy Sugarcane, sweet and heavy Sugarcane, sweet and heavy
  6/10
• Brandy (cognac) Wine, distilled twice, aged in Limousin oak Wine, distilled twice, aged in Limousin oak
  8/10

Which bottle: what it does to your mug

Each row is the classic toddy with 1½ oz of that bottle, lowest Hangover Index first. Proof is what moves the numbers: Wild Turkey 101 at 50.5% makes the mug 11.7% and 1.26 standard drinks. Jameson, Bushmills Original, Tullamore D.E.W. Original and Jim Beam White Label share the lowest Hangover Index here, 5 out of 10.

• Jameson Irish Whiskey · Hangover Index 5/10
  5/10
  40% 172 1
• Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey · Hangover Index 5/10
  5/10
  40% 172 1
• Tullamore D.E.W. Original Irish Whiskey · Hangover Index 5/10
  5/10
  40% 172 1
• Jim Beam White Label Bourbon · Hangover Index 5/10
  5/10
  40% 172 1
• Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey · Hangover Index 6/10
  6/10
  40% 172 1
• Gosling's Black Seal Rum · Hangover Index 6/10
  6/10
  40% 174 1
• Evan Williams Black Label Bourbon · Hangover Index 6/10
  6/10
  43% 180 1.08
• Maker's Mark Bourbon · Hangover Index 6/10
  6/10
  45% 184 1.13
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon · Hangover Index 6/10
  6/10
  45% 184 1.13
• Bulleit Bourbon Bourbon · Hangover Index 6/10
  6/10
  45% 184 1.13
• Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon · Hangover Index 8/10
  8/10
  50.5% 198 1.26

Bottles whose sugar content we have verified, so the calories are complete. US whiskey and rum must be bottled at 80 proof or more (27 CFR 5.143, 5.147). To build your own and watch the numbers change, try the Mix Lab.

Batch calculator for a crowd

Hosting? Keep the water or cider hot on the stove or in a slow cooker and add the spirit to each mug as you serve, so every mug gets the same pour. Pick a toddy, enter your guest count and mugs each, and get the shopping amounts.