Brief: OK, so I’ve felt like crap for the last week. A bad head cold has left me all but sidelined from drinking (not hearing any complaints from my liver). My poor little healthy cocktail blog was getting very lonely until I had a pretty genius idea; make a cocktail that clears my sinuses!
Anyway, full credit goes to the Food Wolf’s Cold Cure Cocktail (check it out here), which provided the base for this recipe.
Makes: 2 cocktails
Ingredients
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 1 oz fresh lime juice (~2 fresh squeezed limes) – lemons OK, too
- 3 oz of whiskey (I used Laphroaig 10 which is TOO good to be mixed, but hey, I’m sick and confused. Leave me alone.)
- 2 oz of homemade jalapeño & ginger infused simple syrup (see directions on how to make). Includes:
- 1 cup of sugar (I used TJ’s evaporated cane juice – less processed)
- 1 or 2 chopped-up jalapeños (seeds removed). The more, the spicier. Be careful when cutting. See the video at the end of this post for a quick run down on cutting jalapeños.
- 1/4 cup of chopped-up fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup of water
Directions
- Make the simple syrup:
- Combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan and put on high heat. Once it boils, reduce heat to low and let sit for 10 minutes. Add in jalapeño and ginger and set heat to medium. Once jalapeño skin turns brownish (4-5 minutes), turn off heat and let cool. Store leftovers in the ‘fridge in an airtight container.
- Add the boiling water, lime juice, booze, and simple syrup into a coffee cup and stir. Your “healthy cocktail” is now ready to enjoy.
Thoughts: Wow. This cleared my sinuses, gave me a little buzz, and even tasted pretty good. Best day of being sick so far. Give it a try – it’s worth the effort!
(Round 2: With my leftover spicy syrup, I’ll be trying it with some Jameson tonight. Note: I followed through with round 2 but used a mix of tangerine and lemon juice because I was low on lemons. It was still good, but the lemon feels more soothing. I highly recommend making sure the drink is HOT [in temperature]. I’m also happy to report I’m almost back to 100%. So stop worrying about me, seriously.)
