Been making a cold remedy--it works, too!
One long ago, when I was waiting table in a restaurant and bar, if any one of us came into work with so much as a sniffle, the boss would pour us a shot of extra sharp ginger brandy and have us drink it. I could never just bolt it down like some could, but even though I sipped it, the stuff seemed to cauterize the throat and get rid of germs. My theory is that no germs can tolerate the stuff!
Fast forward to today. I can't get the extra sharp stuff here in Virginia, so my method has changed. These days I have to buy regular ginger brandy at the ABC store and jack it up with chunks of peeled ginger in the bottom of a pint. So today I've been doing exactly that---two for friends, plus re-upping ours which had about an inch of brandy left from last year. I think we are safe, and so are my friends Dena and Natalie!
True story. Once a friend had just returned from a stint with the Peace Corps in India, and we were having a welcome-home for him at above-mentioned restaurant and bar. Someone had the bright idea to order him a shot of extra sharp ginger brandy. He upended it. Tears literally shot from his eyes! When he got his breath back and could speak again, the first words out of his mouth were, "Order me another!"
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Is extra sharp ginger brandy a commercial product? Or maybe locals make it at home like a "homebrew"?
We still have the state liquor stores in Pennsylvania, and I'm sure they don't carry anything like this. I've had some schnapps that are rather strong and they definitely clear your sinuses ... for example peppermint schnapps will do the trick.
My favorite "quickie" cold remedy works like a charm, but there's no alcohol involved. If I start feeling a cold or a sniffle coming on, I take a double hit of vitamin C and one or two aspirins and go to bed early. I wake up the next day, and almost always the cold is gone, or it's greatly diminished.
