NyQuil SchmyQuil - I'll Make My Own Drugs, Thank You.

I'm sick.  No, not in the way many of you may think of me.  The real kind.  Stuffy/runny nose.  Head hurts. Sore throat.  Achy.  The run of the mill summer cold.  I blame Ray Rice for it.  No, I take that back.  I blame the crazy, super drunk lady in the seat in front of me on the plane home from ATL to RDU on Sunday night.  Yeah, I'm looking at you Nut Job Teacher from LA.  The one who yelled at my bonus kids to,"SHUT UP!" even though they weren't being at all loud or obnoxious, and therefore almost got your head served up to you by me on a platter.  Oh, and the flight attendants were getting ready to write you up.  Yeah, I'm sure you gave me this snot-fest, obnoxious mess.  I put a hex on you and your classroom. And I hope you puked the next day.

Anyway, I'm feeling crummy but when I get sick, which isn't too often, I'm not one for medicine.  At least not the bioengineered junk you buy at the drug store.  Nope.  Give me the "old fashioned" remedies.  The stuff our grandparents and their grandparents used to use.  
Several years ago I came across a recipe for homemade KniQuil.  I probably can't really say NyQuil because it's not really NyQuil, so I made up my own name.  But it looks kinda like it.  The result however, way more kick ass than NyQuil (you see how I've said NyQuil like sixteen times already?  And the NyQuil police have yet to show up at my door.  Or maybe they're here but I just am too looped from my homemade cold meds to know it).  Here's the link to the original post, but I'm also going to post the recipe for it below.  I hope you can read it, because I see two laptop screens right now (which means the homemade cold medicine stuff is working), but I'm not sure which one I'm typing on.

Stuff you need: 2 cups fresh mint leaves (this is why you should grow mint in your garden or windowsill)
1 cup water
1 cup agave nectar (you can order it here. Sugar and honey can also work)
1 small ginger bulb
1 lemon
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. roasted green chile (or even an unroasted jalapeno - you just need the heat)
2 shots Pastis (it's a French liqueur that tastes kind of like licorice)
2 shots Templeton Rye (or any other bourbon, rye or whiskey would do)
1. Start off making a mint simple syrup. Pluck 35-40 mint leaves off their stems, this should yield about 2 cups of mint. Roughly chop half the mint (set half aside for later use) and add to a saucepot with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the leaves out. Put just the mint tea back on a medium heat and wait until back to a full boil. Add agave nectar, mixing, and let cook 1 minute before removing. Set aside to cool.
2. Ready your other veggies for the blender. First peel the ginger and slice into matchsticks. Next, zest your lemon, place the zest into a small dish and cover with 1 tsp. of good quality olive oil.
3. Toss the ginger, green chile and remaining cup of fresh mint to the blender. Add lemon juice. Finally add half the mint syrup, setting the rest aside for garnish. Pulse thoroughly for up to a minute. (Note: If you do not have the luxury of having authentic green chile, try subbing in a roasted jalapeño. Remove the seeds and use half in place of green chile.)
4. Strain the mixture into a bowl. Use a spoon to slush it around, allowing it to pass through the sieve or fine mesh strainer. Now you have the fresh juice part of your elixir! Taste it with a spoon, if it seems too tart or spicy, add more mint syrup one teaspoon at a time.
5. Mix. The basic proportion is one-part juice to one-part pastis to one-part whiskey. For a single dose: measure out a tablespoon of each into a cocktail shaker. Add a teaspoon of lemon zest oil. Complete with 3 ice cubes and shake fervently. Pour into a shot glass or desert wine snifter.  Makes one day's dosage.

The original posters of the recipe used Southern Comfort, but being as I'm from Iowa, I prefer Templeton all day long.

I'm headed back to my sofa with a box of tissues and my iPad so I can stare at all of my dashboards and watch how many of you click on this post.  No, seriously. I love it.  I'm constantly checking the blog, Twitter, Facebook, Storefront and any and all dashboards to see what's happening now.  And then now.  And how about now.  Between blowing my nose, that is.  And. . . . you're welcome (for that visual AND the recipe).