Supposedly of Scottish origin, the Hot Toddy has been a staple of drinking culture since as early as the 1750s (or earlier, the first printed reference was in 1750). Often prescribed by doctors as a cure-all, it quickly became the quintessential hot cocktail and was made with anything that came to hand when the called-for Scottish malt whisky wasn’t available: rum, bourbon, rye, applejack, brandy, pot-still Hollands gin (a malty spirit unlike today’s dry gins), etc. The original recipe called only for hot water, spirits, sugar, and nutmeg.