Here’s a cocktail that’ll get under your skin.
If you were mildly sick around the 1800s, chances are you’d have been prescribed a Whisky Skin (or at least some variation of it). At the time, hot whiskey was the most popular cure for common winter ailments like a cold. Besides its flavor, hot whiskey was popular because of its ability to widen blood cells, allowing more mucus to flow and ultimately drain from the patient. Not that doctors at the time fully understood that, but hey – it made patients happy and sleepy.
The Whisky Skin is a hot cocktail made up of boiling water, Demerara sugar, and a long thin lemon peel. If that sounds vaguely like a Hot Toddy, that’s because the two are in fact similar. Although the Hot Toddy came first with roots in British occupied India, the Whisky Skin is distinctly Gaelic. But Irish Gaelic or Scottish Gaelic is the big question.
Accounts of the Whisky Skin throughout history show recipes with both Scottish and Irish spirits. However, considering the recipe still uses the Scottish “whisky” spelling, rather than the Irish “whiskey,” we may have to side with the Scots on this one. In fact, for a truly historically accurate recipe, try using an Islay Scotch to really highlight some smoky flavors in the cocktail. Though if Irish whiskey is more your jam, opt for a Single Malt Irish Whiskey.
So whether you’re battling a cold or just the cold, warm your skin with a pour of the Whisky Skin.
Whisky Skin
Equipment
- 1 Toddy Mug
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Scotch whiskey
- 1 ounce Water (boiling)
- 1 tsp Demerara sugar
- 1 Lemon peel (thinly cut)
Instructions
- Rinse a toddy glass (or coffee mug) with boiling water to heat the inside of the glass.
- To the glass, add 1 teaspoon Demerara sugar and a long, thin lemon peel.
- Add about 1 ounce of boiling water to the mug and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour 2 ounces of Scotch whisky over the mixture.
- Add an extra 1 ounce of boiling water to the top of the mug and stir lightly.
