In 1837, the Burlington Free Press published an article advising parents that, should their child be stricken with the cold, to bundle him up in flannel, stuff him full of food, and ply him with “hot stimulating drinks, of which hot toddy is best.” In 1981, William Faulkner’s niece wrote about her Pappy that he “always made a small ceremony out of serving his Hot Toddy, bringing it upstairs on a silver tray and admonishing his patient to drink it quickly, before it cooled off. It never failed,” Southern Living recounts. Why weren’t we all raised up on steaming cups of boozy tea?

To be clear, your family doctor will not prescribe you a hot toddy when you sit on their inspection table complaining about the sniffles. A hot toddy has alcohol in it; alcohol in large quantities suppresses the immune system. They definitely won’t suggest giving booze to your kid, because duh. But a hot toddy does have lemon, honey, and tea, a trinity of homeopathic healing that most people swear eases the symptoms of a cold. (Science hasn’t provided much proof as to why, NPR reports, so you’ll have to do your own trial run.)

But more importantly than anti-inflammatories and Vitamin C intake is the emotional response associated with drinking something good and hot. A 2009 study found that making a cup of tea reduced anxiety in stressful situations. It’s not too much of a leap to assume adding booze to that cup gives the drinker blessed peace of mind, too.