The Sonic Tonic Cocktail Recipe

Far be it for us to pigeonhole people, Mrs Romance and I have decided to name a few cocktails we’ve made recently after some of our close blogging friends.

It feels like I’ve known Sonia from Sonia Styling for years, even though I only met her in person for the first time about three weeks ago. It’s the strangest feeling finally meeting someone you’ve been in contact with remotely for ages.

It’s good because you can skip all the annoying small talk that means nothing and is just a way of gauging if you want to spend any more time in this person’s company.

And then there’s always that risk that you won’t like them. They could turn out to be psycho drink spikers or have an gross nose-picking habit – or they could just be an utter douchebag…

Thankfully, Sonia is not like this at all. In fact, she’s bloody great! Her blog Sonia Styling is so full of good content, tips and personal anecdotes it makes you feel like you’re Sonia’s next door neighbour. And that would be great because then Mrs Romance and I would be able to play with her cute little Shetland sheepdog pup, Amalfi!

Anyway, on to the cocktail – there were a few things that led us to connect this drink to Sonia. For one, it’s a toddy – pretty good for getting over a sniffle, and poor ol’ Son’s been feeling a bit under the weather recently (hope this helps, Sonia!).

As to the parallels in character, this drink is warm, sweet and friendly – just like Sonia. But it also has a cheeky, spicy side: it’s got a good kick and a dangerous edge to it – just like Sonia!

It’s also quite short. Ahem.

The Sonic Tonic Cocktail – for Sonia Styling

This recipe serves two.

Here’s what you need:

• 2tbsp honey
• 1 cup hot water
• 6tbsp or 2 double shots rye whisky
• 2 lemon slivers
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Here’s what you do:

1. Spoon the honey into a mixing glass and pour the hot water over.
2. Stir until the honey has dissolved.
3. Add the rye and stir again.
4. Push the lemon peel into the bottom of the glasses.
5. Pour into two glasses over the lemon peel and stir with the cinnamon sticks.

There are quite a few variations possible with this drink. If you want to reduce the sweetness, add a bit of lemon juice. You can make apple whisky by steeping the rye in slices of apple overnight – this would go very nicely with the cinnamon.

Add a bit more spice to the deal with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper when you’re stirring in the honey. Or you might like to add a little grated nutmeg into the mix – the only trouble with nutmeg is you might have to strain it out again before you drink.

I used rye whisky in this recipe because I prefer it to bourbon, which quite a few other toddy recipes call for. You can also use cognac if you’re like Mrs Romance and you don’t like whisky.

I picked up a little 200ml bottle of Courvoisier VS cognac for virtually nothing the last time I came through duty free at the airport. It’s very handy to have in the cupboard!

Whatever you decide to do with this hot little number, make sure you’re sitting comfortably before you start drinking. Once you start, you won’t want to move!

What do you drink if you’re feeling a bit fluey? Do you have a favourite winter warmer cocktail? How cool is Sonia? Tell us in the comments!

Images by Mrs Romance.