Old Barney Toddy
Who knew? Apparently, January 11 is National Hot Toddy Day! I turned to The Gentlemen’s Companion by Charles H. Baker, Jr. for inspiration. In the section on hot drinks, he writes of a “hot helper” based on Applejack called The Jersey Lighthouse.
We met the Jersey Lighthouse sitting in the back room of a small New Jersey inn one horrid winter night, with William Faulkner, Tony Sarg’s puppet maker Bil Baird, and Eric Devine, our sailing mate on the MARMION. … Into a tumbler place 2 lumps of sugar, a dash or 2 of Angostura, 3 or 4 cloves, a spiral of lemon peel. Onto this pour 2 jiggers of ancient applejack, fill with boiling water, float on 1 tbsp applejack at the last and serve blazing merrily. Those who read Bill Faulkner’s Light in August renamed the drink Light in February.
I fiddled around with it a bit and came up with an Applejack toddy I’m calling The Old Barney Toddy. Growing up near the Jersey shore, the lighthouse that I was most familiar with was the Barnegat Lighthouse, otherwise known as “Old Barney”.
Old Barney Toddy
- 2 oz. Laird’s Applejack
- 3/4 oz. spiced simple syrup (or to taste, I like it a little on the sweet side)
- 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 1 dash Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel Bitters
- 1 tbs Applejack to float
Mix first 4 ingredients in a mug and fill with boiling water. Float 1 tbs Applejack on top and set ablaze. Garnish with clove studded lemon peel. A perfect drink for a frosty San Francisco winter night. Well, chilly at least.
Old Barney (Flickr: thisisbossi)
there’s nothing like a geography & history lesson that is reinforced with a cocktail recipe! I like that kind of reinforcement…but would not recommend it become a part of a high school curriculum! Keep ’em coming. – Dan