Taste of Life: The spicy goodness of a hot toddy for Poona rains

The hot toddy, the warm elixir of alcohol and sugar, was an intoxicating brew when one was sick or shivering. It was a cool-weather alcoholic drink with limitless combinations of spirits and ideal to loosen things up, but had less of an aftertaste than punch

The intersection of Colonialism and temperance propagated by European countries makes a rather interesting topic in food studies. In Colonial India, temperance promoted by native leaders was linked to the nationalist cause as a means to overthrow the Western influence that was blamed for changing alcohol consumption patterns among Indians.

The hot toddy essentially comprised a spirit, hot water, spices, sometimes citrus, and a sweetener, often honey. (Wikimedia)

Britain sought to profit from the trade in alcohol once it established itself in India. Around the same time, temperance societies flourished all over the country. While Colonial rulers believed that trade and Christianity were important to make the colonised subjects “civilised”, Christian missionaries and Catholic officials, both civil and military, endorsed sobriety and worked to save Europeans and natives from “alcohol-induced degeneration and moral corruption”.

Foreign liquors were largely consumed in towns like Bombay, Belgaum, and Poona, where there was a significant European, Eurasian, and Parsi population, and to a smaller extent by the higher classes of Hindus in large towns. Consumption undoubtedly increased during the plague in 1896-1900, the use of alcoholic drinks being considered a prophylactic.

Spirit distilled from “mahua” was consumed almost everywhere in the Bombay Presidency because that was the cheapest fermentable material. In Ratnagiri, Bombay, and some parts of Thane district, toddy was largely used for the same reason. Toddy was a juice extracted from the different species of the palm tribe, and was converted into arrack, of which great quantities were sold in the Bombay bazaar, from where it reached Poona. The “Report on the Economic Condition of the Masses of the Bombay Presidency” (1888) stated that in Poona, toddy drinking was getting more frequent near the city and that town labourers of the “lower castes” spent part of their earnings on drink.

In August 1906, a letter written by the Secretary of the Poona Branch of the Temperance Society of Bombay appeared in a Bombay newspaper. It listed “grave and serious evils” resulting from the easy availability of alcoholic drinks in the city and the cantonment and blamed the government for encouraging drunkenness. But the letter was chiefly written to criticise The Connaught Soldiers’ Institute, an army establishment in Poona that was popular among the soldiers for its alcoholic beverages, especially the hot toddy and Bombay Punch.

The Connaught Soldiers’ Institute was built by the government for the special benefit of the British soldiers. It had a very comfortable theatre, a Billiard Room, and a refreshment room. The theatre was let to professional companies for plays and musical performances, and for school prize distributions. The refreshment room was open for theatre-goers and also for the families of soldiers and army officers. Men loved spending their evenings there sipping the hot toddy, especially during the rains.

The hot toddy, the warm elixir of alcohol and sugar, was an intoxicating brew when one was sick or shivering. It was a cool-weather alcoholic drink with limitless combinations of spirits and ideal to loosen things up, but had less of an aftertaste than punch.

I do not know the etymology of the name of the drink and why the name was connected to the sap of an Asian palm tree. It is possible that Indian toddy might have been used to make hot toddies in the earlier days of the British Raj. However, I found no mention of this ingredient in British and American cookbooks appearing after mid-eighteenth century.

The hot toddy essentially comprised a spirit, hot water, spices, sometimes citrus, and a sweetener, often honey. A piece of sugar or honey was put in the bottom of a glass, and it was dissolved with a little hot water. A piece of cinnamon, some cloves, and lemon juice were added. Whiskey or some other spirit was then poured, and the glass was filled with steaming hot water.

The hot toddy was a popular drink in British America in the mid-eighteenth century. However, it was Scotland where it reached the zenith of popularity.

Charles A Goodrich wrote in “The Universal Traveller”, his famous travelogue–guide published in 1836, that there was a custom in Scotland where rum, gin, whiskey, or other spirits were placed upon the table, and the lady who presided offered each guest a dram. A glass of raw spirits was poured out, without water, and passed from one to another, each drinking successively from the same glass, which was replenished as fast as it was emptied. The practice was nearly as common among the ladies as gentlemen, but the dram was always drunk with moderation, and seemed to be merely an interlude before the regular round of wine drinking commenced.

Both dinners and suppers, when they were meant to be hospitable, were concluded by the drinking of a hot toddy. A pitcher of hot water was placed upon the table, and each guest was furnished with a large foot-glass, holding nearly a pint, in which he mixed his water, spirits, and sugar, in such proportions as he pleased; whiskey was preferred on these occasions, but that of the highlands, which was the best, was so expensive, in consequence of the excise, that it was rarely used.

Each foot-glass had a small wooden ladle, which was employed to dip the hot toddy out into wine glasses, from which it was drunk. The ladies were not given foot-glasses, but the gentlemen occasionally laid out some of their hot toddy into the wine glasses for the ladies, who thus partook of this beverage, although with much moderation.

On Burns Night, the Scots celebrated by throwing parties, lighting bonfires, and downing toddies to keep his memory alive. Poona regiments gulped tumbler after tumbler of hot toddies during the Burns supper.

Because the drink was diluted with hot water, strongly flavoured spirits were preferred. Bombay and Poona newspapers advertised strong whiskies, especially for hot toddies.

A recipe in “The Bombay Chronicle” published on June 27, 1913, mentioned adding a shot of whiskey to a mug of hot tea with one or two teaspoons of honey and a slice of lemon. At Muratore, the famous Italian confectionery and restaurant, the Scotch hot toddy was made by substituting brewed hot black tea for water and Scotch for brandy.

The hot toddy was not supposed to be served too hot. But alcohol cooled fast, and a cold toddy was not a crowd pleaser. A cold toddy known as “sling” was served in some Bombay restaurants like the Green’s frequented by the Americans.

The spicy goodness of this warm and fragrant drink, however, did not entice the leaders of the temperance movement.

At the Soldier’s Home opposite the Non-Conformist Church in East Street, alcoholic beverages, including the hot toddy, were banned intermittently. The Home was furnished with a bar from which the soldier could get not only a good meal, but also agreeable drinks. However, due to the influence of Rev Mr Reed, Wesleyan Chaplain of Poona, the home was used for religious and social gatherings and for the encouragement of temperance by the sale of tea, coffee, and light refreshments, which were under the control of a Lance-Corporal.

The letter in the Bombay newspaper criticised the availability of alcohol at the Home when the temperance activists were not looking.

More about the temperance movement in Poona, some other time.