Let me be frank about this recipe: The heat of the pepper will very nearly kill you. On the first sip, the mouth twists into a gasp and a hoarse rasp bellows involuntarily from the throat. The recommendation is to drink the entire glass in one sitting, as painful as it may seem. I can report that it works. My chest and throat burned with a hard (yet not altogether unpleasant) heat but subsided into a banked warmth. The soreness in my throat was, indeed, gone. So was any feeling or taste sensation in my mouth. As an extra bonus, my nasal passages cleared. It's hard to advocate such a slash and burn cure but there is a reason why it's been recorded--and handed down--so faithfully over these many years.

Stir all the ingredients together in a tall glass until the salt and cayenne dissolve. Let the drink warm to room temperature, then stir once more and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled again. Serve cold and sip gradually.
A must-have for cold and flu season:

From: Busy Cooks, 1/8/99
Posted By: Sherryl E. MacLeod", sem@srv.net. VIA: Chile Head Mailing List
Post Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999