Enjoy this warm and satisfying hot toddy with vodka as a comforting cold weather cocktail.  Steep and prepare in minutes as a lovely fireside drink.  You can even sip this easy hot cocktail as a better-tasting hot toddy through cold and flu season in the colder months!  The honey and fruity cranberry pomegranate flavors combine with the cranberry tea to make what tastes like a delicious hot punch!  It’s perfect for sipping by the fire on a crisp cold night as a hot comforting cocktail.

Can You Make a Hot Toddy With Vodka?

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Absolutely.  The vodka will provide a much milder flavor profile than other spirits typically used in the hot toddy classic cocktail.  These might include any variety of brandy, rye, whiskey, scotch, bourbon, cognac, and even dark rum.  Since the flavor of vodka is rather quiet, it leaves a lot of room on the canvas to incorporate other flavors you might not normally consider in a hot toddy.  

You can enjoy hot vodka drinks in different ways with different combinations just as I have done by using the festive and wintery flavors of cranberry and pomegranate with honey and fresh lemon.

Ingredients To Make an Easy Hot Toddy Recipe

1. Good Quality Vodka – I’m using Ketel One vodka
2. Honey
3. Fresh Lemon Wedge
4. Cranberry Tea – or cranberry apple tea, or pomegranate tea.  Mine was a black tea blend (cranberry tea by Adagio Teas) so it has a deep dark coloring to it.  If using a green tea blend, non-caffeinated or herbal blend, it may result in a much lighter color.  
5. Water
6. Cranberry Pomegranate Juice – I used Ocean Spray cranberry pomegranate juice
7. Sliced red apple – I used sweet, crisp, fuji apples
8. Fresh pomegranate Seeds
9. Cinnamon sticks – optional for garnish

Make a Cozy Cranberry Pomegranate Hot Toddy with Vodka

Combine water, cranberry pomegranate juice, sliced apples, and tea bag in a small saucepan. Over medium-low heat, wait for the mixture to come to a gentle a simmer.  As soon as mixture comes to a simmer, turn off heat and cover.

Steep Mixture Covered 

Steep the juice, apple, water, and tea bag mixture off of the heat for 5 minutes.  

I highly recommend using a cocktail jigger to measure the ounces out for all ingredients (including the honey) as it will come out delicious and consistent each time you make it!

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Add Vodka, Honey, and Fresh Lemon Juice

Remove cover.  Splash in the vodka and squeeze in the juice from one wedge of fresh lemon. Drizzle in the honey and stir. Continue stirring the mixture until honey has melted in evenly. Serve in a mug and enjoy while hot.   

If mixture has cooled down, simply return the pot to the heat before pouring and heat for 2 to 5 more minutes as needed to make warm again, do not bring to a boil.  

Garnish and serve hot

Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds, fresh cranberries, a lemon wheel, or a cinnamon stick. Personally, I like to garnish with a cooked apple slice or two from the hot toddy mixture in the pot.  Serve this easy hot toddy drink as a cozy warm cocktail throughout the holiday season or sip to soothe a scratchy sore throat when those winter colds just won’t let up.  

Enjoy this hot winter cocktail in the colder months

The fruity flavors from cranberry hot tea swirl in effortlessly with cranberry pomegranate juice, healing honey + lemon, and good smooth vodka to make the perfect drink for the cold winter months. Sip as a hot toddy with vodka to soothe a sore throat or a nagging winter cold!

My favorite way to enjoy these hot cranberry pomegranate toddies is right in front of the fire with a cozy blanket! If you like a simple, more traditional hot toddy, this quick whiskey cinnamon hot toddy might hit the spot with just a few basic ingredients… This easy spiced tea with golden rum is another excellent choice for cold weather cocktails that warm the bones in minutes!

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