When home sick with the flu as a kid, my mom brought me home a Hershey bar by way of compensation for missing….school? As an adult it’s decidedly different. Eddie doesn’t bring me home candy (or flowers for that matter) when my taste buds are standing erect on my tongue and my throat is lined with an imaginary army of itchy…things.

So what do I get in compensation for missing…wine?

If Eddie were to bring home a bottle of say…let me check my wine log…St. Francis 1999 Cabernet, my palate wouldn’t know this was the bottle I didn’t rate so highly (it had gone cellared too long).

Wine, like chocolate, is lost on a person with a cold. They don’t work because you need a clear nose to enjoy both. Try holding your nose and trying either, it’s freakish. And forget about enjoying the finish. Might as well be forcing down a piece of bark with tepid water.

But I deserve something that did taste good Mom, err I mean, Eddie.

An “angry” single-malt Scotch, the real peaty kind, that I never did go in for still didn’t work now. But my other favorites did: Balvenie 10 or 12 year old, Aberlour 16 year old or a 15 year old Glenfiddich. The alcohol may have served to dry my throat but the numbing affect on the same itchy column did the trick.

My Domaine de Canton (DDC) Martini was the best choice by far. A vodka martini (we like Imperia) with DDC ginger liqueur replacing the vermouth. DDC tastes like candied ginger and ginger is good for a sore throat! Ta Da!

So, in closing, it’s 5:17, the husband is no where in sight, so I guess I have to drag my wretchedly sick body into the kitchen to ice the martini glasses myself. At least I don’t have to worry about him bringing me anything.

Post Script: It’s 6:22, he’s late, I tossed some brandy into my hot cider and it worked in a pinch. But there will be single malt sometime tonight!