Gyldearn German Wirehaired Pointers

Well thought I would share these recipes for a few soothing drinks that lift my spirits and banish the sniffles when everyone else is swallowing anti-biotics and being plagued for weeks with the shivering, sniffling, hacking and coughing.

Jimmy's Hot Toddie.

Ingredients.

Your favourite whisky, be it Single Malt or Blend.

Lemonade.

A Lemon.

Honey.

Sugar.

You will need a small sauce pan, (depending of course how many people you are making a toddie for), fill a heat resistant glass or your vessel of choice two thirds full with lemonade, pour into your pan and add half a teaspoon of sugar to kill the fizz. Add a slice of fresh lemon. Put it on the cookers hob to heat gently not quite to boiling point. In your chosen glass add a healthy measure of whisky and a good tea spoon of honey. Once hot remove sauce pan and add contents to your glass stirring to mix the honey, remember to leave room for the slice of lemon.

This is a grown up alternative to those horrible sachets of honey and lemon. One word of caution though several of these may lead to rambunctious behaviour followed by a great nights sleep.

Whisky Mac.

This is a quick fix throat anaesthetic and chest warmer. Again your favourite tipple with the addition of green ginger wine, the ginger wine you can make yourself if you can source a bottle of ginger essence, (usually from a chemists) , boiled up with eight pints of water and a kilo of sugar and left to cool, alternatively it can be found bottled in some health food outlets or more easily found near the port and sherry in the larger supermarkets. Its then just a matter of trial and error mixing to taste.

One word of warning here though is it may blow you out of your socks, it is rather fiery going down if you get the mix wrong for your pallet, but when it arrives, the glow from the warmth and soothing of the throat is wonderful. Great in the hip flask for a wee sip at the pegs on those frosty mornings.