Can A Toddy Cure My Pneumonia?

The blog has been updated rather loosely lately because I just can’t seem to shake this illness I have been dealing with for the past few weeks. I thought I was better, but apparently, that was just a fluke because I apparently have pneumonia. One would think I would have found this out earlier, but while bartending as a profession has tons of advantages over traditional careers, health benefits are rarely included. Consequently, faced with the options of paying medical expenses out of pocket or toughing it out and letting it pass, I decided to allow this cold run its course. I didn’t really consider in the pneumonia factor. Now, sick as dog (with pneumonia) this seems like a rather poor decision. Oh, and the expenses? I ended up having to spend 114 dollars on prescriptions alone, and that includes the free samples the doc gave me. Will somebody please fix the prescription drug situation in this country? Maybe the alternative is medicinal cocktails.

For centuries, alcohol was used as an elixir for any illness. The result was a wonderful advancement in the ingenuity of spirits and the ongoing mixing of these spirits with bitters and sugar to create tonics that could be both easily consumed and somewhat effective at fighting disease. In fact, this mixture of spirit, bitters, sugar, and water eventually became known as the “Cocktail”. Most cocktail connoisseurs are aware of these origins, but few discuss the role of the Toddy in the development of modern drinks.

In fact, the “Cocktail” appeared after the Toddy, which was prescribed to sick patients for centuries before Peychaud invented bitters in the early 1800’s. However, toddies have no specific origin and can be made in countless fashions. In many ways, this made doctors some of the earliest bartenders, forced to find pleasing ways to deliver their potions. Sugars, juices, and water all presented opportunities to introduce often unpleasing spirits to people everywhere. Amidst all of the notes, I am beginning to wonder why my girlfriend spends all that time studying for med school; she should just spend more time with me.

This is unlikely as she doesn’t have any free time at all, and there have been several medical advancements since the age of prescribing brandy for SARS. Perhaps, Caroline from the Art of the Drink can come make me one. After all, when her husband Darcy was sick recently, she also wrote a post on the Toddy. It seems like the practice of drinking a Toddy when sick didn’t die with the advent of modern medicine after all – take that med school. With so many different ways to make a Toddy, with route should I choose? Shoshanna Cohen recently posted a great Toddy recipe on Imbibe’s blog which seems really tempting at this moment, but I love creating things myself and like to start out by looking at an older recipe.

Dale DeGroff in The Craft of the Cocktail notes in his discussion of Toddies that the 1801 book The American Herbal Samuel Sterns offered the following definition of a Toddy:

Samuel Sterns Toddy

? oz. Water
? oz. Rum or Brandy
? Sugar
? Nutmeg

Mix the ingredients together.

Sounds great, but I don’t particularly like addition of nutmeg. I want my Toddy to be as smooth as possible. DeGroff also points out that Jerry Thomas bartending author of How to Mix Drinks (1862) actually noted in a difference between Toddies and Slings to hinge upon the addition of nutmeg. Slings had it; toddies didn’t. But even Thomas couldn’t limit himself to just one Toddy, his book (which you can find over at Art of the Drink) has the following recipes included, which despite the previous distinction from slings, may have nutmeg:

Hot Brandy Toddy.
(Use small bar-glass, hot.)
Take 1 tea-spoonful of fine white sugar.
1 wine-glass of brandy.

Dissolve the sugar in a little boiling water, add the brandy, and pour boiling water into the glass until it is two-thirds full Grate a little nutmeg on top.

Cold Gin Toddy.
(Use small bar-glass.)
Take 1 tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar.
½ wine-glass of water.
1 wine-glass of gin.
1 lump of ice.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the brandy and
ice, and stir with a spoon.

Hot Gin Toddy.
(Use small bar-glass, hot.)
Take 1 tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar.
1 wine-glass of Holland, or Old Tom gin (as preferred).

Dissolve the sugar in boiling water, add the gin, and pour boiling water into the glass until it is twothirds full.

Cold Whiskey Toddy.
(Use small bar-glass.)
Take 1 tea-spoonful of fine white sugar.
1 wine-glass of Bourbon, or rye whiskey.
1 lump of ice.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the whiskey and ice, and stir with a spoon.

To make HOT WHISKEY TODDY, dissolve the sugar in boiling water, omit the ice, and pour boiling water into
the glass, until it is two-thirds full.

Cold Irish Whiskey Toddy.
(Use small bar-glass.)
Take 1 tea-spoonful of fine white sugar.
1 wine-glass of Kinahan’s L. L. or Jamieson’s
whiskey.
2 wine-glasses of water.
1 lump of ice.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the whiskey and ice, and stir with a spoon. This is a delicious drink if made with either of the above brands of whiskey, preferably the first.

Something tells me I should go for the Gin Toddy. After all, gin has medicinal origins as well and was used in mixtures such as gin and tonic to prevent malaria during colonial expeditions. But, gin just doesn’t sound like a Toddy to me. When I think of a Toddy, I think of something somewhat thick and warm. Gin somehow doesn’t seem to fit this description to me. Even though gin can work with honey in cocktails rather effectively (just make a lavender-honey syrup and start experimenting), I just am not willing to try the Gin Toddy yet. I really only plan on getting up off of this couch for one drink, and I want it to be ideal. Plus, there’s the whole malaria doesn’t equal pneumonia thing.

Time to try something new. As I discussed earlier, gastriques have kind of been my thing lately, and I think a nice thick gastrique would work perfect in a Toddy. Time to get in the kitchen…

Ok, I am back. I made a dark deep gastrique extending on another I made the other day that is going to work perfectly. I caramelized some white and brown sugar together, added some red wine vinegar, and flavored it with vanilla bean, cinnamon sticks, and anise. The result is a deep, dark gastrique that I reduced until it became almost molasses like - perfect for a Toddy. Time to make my Toddy –

The Pneumonia Toddy

2 oz Brandy
1 Tsp. Vanilla/Cinnamon/Anise Gastrique
2 oz. Hot Water
1 Anise Star
1 Cinnamon Stick
Lemon Twist

Mix the hot water and the gastrique together in a tempered glass until the gastrique dissolves in the water. Pour the gastrique/water mixture over the Brandy in whichever glass you feel fits best, being sure to choose a glass with a handle or wait for the Toddy to become cool enough to touch. Rim the glass with the lemon twist and drop it, the anise star, and the cinnamon stick in the glass.

Man, this Toddy’s awesome! You’ve got to try this when it starts getting cold in the upcoming months or when you are feeling sick. Just make sure you look out for this if you’re taking meds:

Oops, oh well, time to put the Toddy down. I still have to load this on the blog, and I don’t think its going to make it there if I get all the way through the Toddy. I’d share it with someone to not let it go to waste, but then it would really be “The Pneumonia Toddy” wouldn’t it? Toddies are great mixtures that get attention when you get sick, but they probably need more credit for their role in the evolution of drinks, and based on tonight’s outcomes, they definitely need more experimentation. Alright, time for another nap; writing this and the three sips of my Toddy made me quite tired. Damn pneumonia!

Houston: A Cocktail Desert; Where’s An Oasis?

Beavers
2310 Decatur
Houston, TX 77007
Important Note:

I wrote this post when I was bartending at another bar in Houston, struggling to get some creative and quality-focused drinks behind the bar. I have moved on now, and I work at Beavers, where we do everything that I discuss on this site. If you want a great cocktail, go there and let me or Dave make you something. I know that you will enjoy it; our staff is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the art of making drinks. I am very excited to be a part of what Houston should have had long ago. We make all the classics the way they should be made and craft new cocktails in the old fashion style using fresh ingredients, homemade products, and exceptional spirits. Come see us and have the best drinks in the city:

My Previous Comments on the Houston Bar Scene:

I have returned to my home city of Houston after a six-year hiatus only to find that I might just be living in the worst city in the country for finding a decent cocktail. I’m serious; I have lived and been to cities only 1/50^th the size of Houston that have better bar options (my standard for better is obvious determined by drink quality). To be fair, I haven’t been to every bar, but I am slowly working through my options with educated screenings and recommendations by experienced bar-goers. I have found a few decent places to get a drink, but the city overall has proven to be void of any understanding of cocktail culture.

Houston’s bar scene problems are numerous, but here are the best reasons why you won’t be able to find a decent drink without a guide or some serious failures first.

There is no real bar scene. Houston has always struggled to assemble any nightlife, but over the last decade, a few spots throughout the city have hosted modest collections of drink establishments, including Midtown, Rice Village, and the newest hotspot, Washington. The problem with all of these places is that they have never achieved any elevated level of success. While maintaining interest for some time, bars in these areas rarely achieve any permanent status, and those that have are certainly not known for their drinks. It is pretty simple: No Bar Scene = No Good Drinks.

There is no mass transit system. If you didn’t know, Harris County has the highest DUI rates in the nation. There is no comparison, and the primary reason is that there is no widely accessible means of transportation in the city. Sure, there are cab companies, a light rail, and buses, but between the safety concerns of using these options during bar hours and their lack of availability hoping to find a safe way home after a night of drinking is extremely difficult. While designated drivers are a great way to go, this can limit people’s options tremendously. But really, this wouldn’t be as big of a problem as it is if it wasn’t for…

Urban sprawl. Houston has to be the most spread out city in the nation without any purpose. At least L.A. can claim population and the union of previously established cities, but Houston really has no excuse other than I guess we just like our space. I keep thinking that at some point people will get tired of driving two hours to get to work and start looking inside the city again, but most of the growth, despite some gentrification continues to push the city outward. What does this mean for bars? There just aren’t as many people actually living inside the city who would go to would be quality bars. Unlike other cities that have cocktail scenes that thrive off of local residents, Houston bars fight competitively for locals and are forced to try and motivate individuals to come in from the suburbs despite being able to offer a safe way home.

Conservatives don’t like good drinks. Houston, or the portion of Houston that can be found spending money on a nightlife, is mostly conservative. I am sure some red staters out there somewhere enjoy a good drink, but speaking strictly from apparent patterns, cities that have great cocktail scenes are full of liberals who enjoy the arts, a sophisticated nightlife, and are more willing to accept unconventional venues, which in Houston, would definitely mean a bar that focuses on drinks.

The failing restaurant standard. Houston has some wonderful restaurants and the culinary creativity in Houston seems to be exponentially increasing all the time. Unfortunately, despite the growing focus on quality food, few places seem willing to extend their culinary ideologies into the bar. Bars seem to exist simply as requirement for restaurants and not something that can add to the guest experience. In many cities, local cocktails revolutions have been sparked by restaurant interest to elevate standards of the bar to that of their food. Most Houston restaurants have yet to realize the benefits of this strategy.

Cheapskate bar owners. I love wine bars just as much as the next guy, but can we please get one of these bars to mix a drink? Some of the wine bars in Houston are great venues, and some even have good wines too. Sadly, because of tax laws in the state of Texas, alcohol serving licenses for wine and beer only bars are significantly cheaper than those that serve liquor. Please, somebody spend a little bit extra and start making some drinks!

Few enthusiasts. Even if the bar scene stinks, and even if restaurant managers don’t care, and even if few people are willing to drive, I am still shocked by how few people I can find that actually care about the drinks they make. I have yet to meet a single bartender that has ever offered me anything original, surprisingly classic, or talked to me about the drink they just made for me. I did meet a guy the other day that knows how to make an Aviation, but he wasn’t behind the bar and told me that the place he works at doesn’t make good drinks either. No surprise there.

Uhm, I haven’t found an investor yet. I am not trying to be arrogant here, but I am going to run a successful bar in Houston one day that serves great drinks. Trying to meet people like yourself in a new city can be difficult, especially one as large as Houston, when there is nobody to turn to who understands the cocktail focused bar. However, I am keeping the faith that somebody out there is looking to invest in an educated, experienced individual with a record of success. When that day comes, Houston will never be the same! Until then, I will continue to be the enduring optimist hard at work.

Despite all of these shortcomings, there are some good bars in the city. I don’t want to talk too much about my bar because that is where I work, and I hope you think I can make you a good drink. Here are the best three places I have found:

3. A+ (The Alden Hotel).

1117 Prairie Street
Houston, TX 77002

This hotel bar is paired with 17, an excellent restaurant. Decent selection, know how to make a good classic, and a nice interior make this a good option.

2. Volcano

2349 Bissonnet St
Houston, TX 77005

Volcano is a bar that was formerly a house, and is located on the corner of Bissonet and Morningside (right down the street from Rice Village, so you know I go there). They have a good list of 12 cocktails and make all drinks with fresh squeezed juice. The focus on quality for their house drinks is really a notch above the rest.

1. T’afia

3701 Travis St.
Houston, TX 77002

This is where you have to go if you want to be impressed. This is one of the best restaurants in the city, and they make outstanding drinks. Their original ratafias are amazing, and the bar, while small, is well stocked with great classic bottles. If I had to tell you to go to one bar outside of my own, it would be here.

 

Additional Note: I had a very positive experience at Absinthe last week, and I will definitely be going back. They have started to focus more on classics like Sazeracs recently and they (obviously) have some Lucid on hand. Plus, I really like the space.

Absinthe
609 Richmond Ave
Houston, TX 77006

Well, there you have it, some glimmers of hope in an otherwise desolate place for finding drinks. I have heard of some other potential spots, but have yet visit them and will be doing so soon. I will let you know what I think and if I find any other good places to go. If you would like to come to Beavers when I am bartending, send me an e-mail and I let you know when I am working. Hopefully, I can make you a good drink in a city that has yet to raise their drinking standards. Just ask for Bobby.