Cough-Be-Gone & Sore Throat Syrup

Cough-Be-Gone & Sore Throat Syrup:
This syrup for sore and inflamed throats is a much tastier recipe than my sore throat gargle.
4 parts fennel seed
2 parts licorice root
2 parts slippery elm bark
2 parts valerian
2 parts wild cherry bark
1 part cinnamon bark
1/2 part ginger root
1/8 part orange peel
Make a syrup as instructed (*here). Take 1 to 2 teaspoons every hour or two throughout the day, or use whenever a bout of coughing starts up.

*Syrups
Syrups are the yummiest of all herbal preparations. They are delicious, concentrated extracts of the herbs cooked into a sweet medicine with the addition of honey and/or fruit juice. Maple syrup and vegetable glycerin may be substituted for honey.
Although there is more than one method for making an herbal syrup, I have been using this technique for many years, and it makes excellent syrups, time after time.
Step 1. Use 2 ounces of herb mixture to 1 quart of water. Over low heat, simmer the liquid down to 1 pint. This will give you a very concentrated tea.
Step 2. Strain the herbs from the liquid. Pour the liquid back into the pot.
Step 3. To each pint of liquid, add 1 cup of honey (or other sweetener, such as maple syrup, vegetable glycerin, or brown sugar). Most recipes call for 2 cups of sweetener (a 1:1 ratio of sweetener to liquid). I find this far too sweet for my taste, but the added sugar helped preserve the syrup in the days when refrigeration wasn’t common.
Step 4. Warm the honey and the liquid together only long enough to mix well. Most recipes instruct you to cook the honey and the tea together for 20 to 30 minutes over high heat to thicken further. It certainly does make thicker syrup, but I’d rather not cook the living enzymes out of the honey.
Step 5. When the syrup is thoroughly mixed, you may wish to add a fruit concentrate to flavor, or a couple of drops of essential oil, such as peppermint or spearmint, or a small amount of brandy to help preserve the syrup and to aid as a relaxant in cough formulas.
Step 6. Remove from the heat, bottle, and label. Syrups will last for several weeks, even months, if refrigerated