The Hot Toddy is so yesterday, today’s cocktail cold remedy is the Rock & Rye. Mixologist Dean Shivers revives this classic cocktail at Copperleaf, the restaurant and bar inside the Cedarbrook Lodge in SeaTac, Washington.
“Rock & Rye is a pre-Prohibition whiskey cordial that survived the temperance movement in the name of good home medicine,” Shivers explains. The cocktail, which originated in post-colonial America, thrived as a cure-all for everything from the common cold to sour temperaments.
According to Shivers, this elixir is also the grandfather of the Old Fashioned and, when made with high-proof whiskey, it drinks more like one, rather than a sickness-prevention liqueur. The cocktail also traditionally uses horehound, an herb in the mint family used to treat ailments.
Like going to the doctor’s office, this drink also leaves you with some candy — classic hard rock candy. If you can’t find this now-obscure candy to finish your cocktail at home, Shivers suggests substituting with granulated sugar, making sure it fully dissolves into the drink mixture.
“Partly this cocktail is inspired by cold season, but more so it is inspired by the fall and winter flavors,” Shivers says. It “works both as a cousin to an Old Fashioned over ice or as a [hot] toddy. Regardless, this drink is great because it is so easy to execute. The addition of a fresh lemon garnish is important because the acidity helps bring the flavors together and balance the sweetness of the dried fruit.”
Think of your health and mix up a bottle of the Rock & Rye fizz this weekend.
Rock & Rye Fizz
Makes 1 bottle, about 12 servings
1 bottle (750ml) Woodinville Whiskey rye whisky
Zest from 1 orange
Zest from 1 lemon
6 dried apricots
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 clove
1 tablespoon dried horehound herb
6 ounce rock candy, or 1/2 cup cane sugar
Garnish: 12 slices of lemon studded with cloves
Tools Needed:
1 quart-size Mason jar
Y-style vegetable peeler
Chinois, coffee filter or cheese cloth
With a vegetable peeler, remove zest from the entire orange and lemon. Be careful to avoid as much white pith as possible. Chop the apricots in 1/2-inch cubes. In a quart-size Mason jar, add the peels, apricots and whiskey, then cap and shake. Store in a cool place out of direct sunlight for 2 to 3 weeks, shaking the jar once a day. After 2 to 3 weeks, the fruit should be soft and pale, and the liquid should be darker. Add the spices, horehound and sugar. Allow this to infuse similarly for another week. After this, remove the solids by filtering through a chinois, coffee filter or cheese cloth-lined strainer. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.
When ready to drink, serve over ice with a slice of lemon, or add as a substitute to your favorite toddy recipe.
