I was traveling through the UK on a bus tour a few summers ago and got a horrible cold. Little tiny town, in late, no chance to buy cold medicine. But the hotel had a bar. I asked for a hot toddy and the bartender in Wales didn’t know what it was, but I talked him through whiskey (it doesn’t have to be bourbon - and rum or brandy will work in a pinch) honey and hot water.
The Aussie bartender in Edinburgh knew exactly what it was (as did her Scottish coworker).
And then I got cold medicine. I think they still put the good stuff in British cold medicine because whatever was it there took care of the problem and was more reality altering than the whiskey.