Hey bartender, can you gimme something for my cold?

The arrival of cold and flu season got us wondering: At the onset of cold symptoms, can we nix a trip to the pharmacy in favor of a remedy from the bar? Mindy Kammer of M.D. Pharmacy in University City quickly dismissed any inkling that alcohol could actually cure a cold. She did, however, accede that “alcohol may feel like it helps because it makes you feel less inhibited and gives you a different feeling.” Alcohol’s ability to “feel like it helps” has led many among us to mix up a hot toddy when we’re feeling under the weather. Mike Eskew, a nearly 20-year veteran behind the bar at Morton’s in Clayton, has served countless hot toddys to patrons seeking this sick man’s pick-me-up. His version features hot tea (rather than water), whiskey, lemon juice and honey. Blood & Sand co-owner and bartender Adam Frager’s curative is an aromatic chamomile tea brewed with echinacea root, a plant widely used for treating colds. He warms the concentrated tea with gin and ginger liqueur, then adds honey and an herbal cardamom-cinnamon simple syrup. “If you’re fighting something small, it’s a better version of Nyquil,” deemed Frager of his neutraceutical drink, Soul Kitchen. But it’s not just tea that soothes a scratchy throat. “All major spirits – gin, vodka and whiskey, for example – have their roots in medicinal, therapeutic purposes,” noted Frager. In fact, treating sick customers with a little booze echoes the pharmaceutical role assumed by bartenders of yesteryear – that of improving the flavors of unpalatable spirits, tonics and bitters consumed for medicinal purposes. When imbibers complain of cold symptoms at Taste in the Central West End, mixologist Ted Kilgore turns to the healing powers of the herbaceous Industry Sour, a cocktail that some folks in the restaurant industry sip when fighting a case of the sniffles. Kilgore uses equal parts green Chartreuse, Fernet Branca, lime juice and simple syrup. Tart citrus from the lime juice acts as a Vitamin C booster while simple syrup faintly coats an itchy throat – instant comfort. Note: It’s dangerous to mix medicines with alcohol. Some herbs are contraindicated for people with chronic or acute diseases and during pregnancy. Soul Kitchen Courtesy of Blood & Sand’s Adam Frager 1 Serving 1 bag chamomile tea 1 tsp. loose echinacea 7 oz. hot water 1¼ oz. Plymouth Gin ½ oz. Big O Ginger Liqueur ½ oz. cinnamon-green cardamom simple syrup (recipe follows) 1 tsp. Missouri wildflower honey • Steep the chamomile and echinacea in the water for a couple of minutes. • Pour into an Irish coffee glass, add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cinnamon-green cardamom simple syrup 2 cups 2 cups water 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cinnamon stick 4 pods green cardamom • Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. • Add the sugar, stir and remove from heat. • Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and let chill, covered, overnight. • Fine strain into another container and reserve.