This morning, I was reading about a fellow blogger suffering from the flu. Seems a shot of tequila settled her stomach almost instantly.
Mmm, tequila! I don’t need a stomach ache to enjoy tequila!
Long ago, as an adolescent, I went with Drew to her Granny and Pappy’s house. We’d ridden a gigantic horse and played in the partially frozen creek that day. We’d had a very good time, but I wasn’t feeling well after, so Drew went off to do other things, and I hung around the house with Smaller Cousin. Smaller Cousin and I were coloring when Granny said I looked fevered. She came over to feel me and said I was hot. A little while later, Smaller Cousin crawled into Granny’s lap where it was discovered she, too, had a fever.
Granny told Pappy we had fevers. Pappy had us drink a horrible concoction of whiskey, honey, Tabasco sauce, and some sorta juice. We continued to color. We fell asleep coloring. When I woke up, my face was stuck to the coloring book, crayon still in my hand. Smaller cousin’s beet red face was turned to me, still asleep. I was incredibly hot. I was sweaty. I was parched. I threw the blanket off, and got up to gulp down an enormous glass of iced tea.
I was CURED. After a hot toddy and a nap, I felt fine.
When Smaller Cousin woke up, Granny had to put that blanket in the wash, she said. She said it was drenched with sweat!
Granny and Pappy do not drink. When I recently told this story to MIL, she could not believe me, and said surely her sister (who’s known to keep a bottle of whiskey around) must have made it. Trust you me, if this foul-smelling remedy hadn’t been presented to me by a large, imposing patriarch, I would not have complied. I was not an easygoing kid who just drank whatever nasty thing people told me to! He was the one who made them, and he was the one who towered over us, saying, “Drink this down.”
I’m glad I drank it, and I’ll never forget The Cure.
I’ve often wondered about the recipe, although what I seem to find are recipes for pleasure, and not necessarily for medicinal purposes.
I’ve thought about it several times when the kids had fevers. I’ve never done it. I’m pretty sure giving children alcohol is no longer socially acceptable. I know my mother rubbed brandy on my gums, and I was allowed to partake in a drink now and again, but times have changed.
It’d be my luck that my kids have too much of their father’s teetotaling family in them, and not enough of my hard-drinkin genes…
P.S. All these new mothers who are rubbing their teething babies’ gums with “harmless” vanilla extract? That’s 41% alcohol. You’re welcome.
joeyfullystated 
We never did the brandy or vanilla on gums…frozen bagels worked best. HOWEVER we have given the girls sips of alcohol…Lis cannot stand it, Anja likes the stronger flavors…Irish/German in the gal!
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I can’t believe you’d let your children sip alcoholic beverages! Oh shame on you!
I never do that, and if I did, it’d be Sassy who loves everything she tries and Moo who hates everything! LOL
Sissy can’t have, because of her liver, but she’s definitely a frou-frou kinda girl, blended with umbrellas and whatnot. Bubba says he’s got some favorite beers, but I don’t remember what, prolly because they weren’t anything I like…
But I would never contribute to minors! 😉
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LOL @ the reference to 41% Alcohol Content of Vanilla Extract – I had no idea!! I put that stuff in some of my cakes aka Baked X-Files… lol
Tis true that so many of the ancient (okay not that ancient) recipes from former generations worked just fine. These days we have countless remedies thrown at us from every direction, not least of which is from pharmaceutical companies looking to make a dollar from #ProtectiveParents!!
Great post – I leave with a smile on my face due to your closing statement lol
ML
x
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Thanks Miss Lou! I bake with it, too. The idea being that it’s cooked, which reduces its alcohol substantially 🙂
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Love the graphics and the recipe you found!
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Thank you!
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ps great details about your falling asleep with your face sticking the the coloring book! 🙂
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Thanks 🙂
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I shall remember this the next time I get sick with the flu…..which hopefully will be never…but I do seldom get sick, so…..
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I’ve tried the Hot Toddy cure. It doesn’t really get rid of flu or the cold, but it does warm the insides and that feels so good.
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First Husband said his mother used to have him swallow a tablespoon of Vick’s Vapor Rub when he got sick. She was also an alcoholic. I’m surprised he survived, but learning those two things answered a lot of questions.
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Whoa!
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I don’t think I ever bothered with the hot or the toddy part. I just drank rum when I got sick. Always helped.
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