bitflipper
There was a time when I was drinking whisky on a regular basis. I gotta say - and science be damned - that I felt a whole lot better when I stopped.

Yep, and I bet you wrote some extra music in the first month or so after stopping.
Drinking is fun for the first 30 minutes. After that it is a balancing act between feeling bad and feeling really bad. Maybe when you're 20something feeling good for hours is part of it.. but it isn't anymore, at least not for me. Now if I drink, it is a maybe 2-3 oz of Devil's Cut, 4-5 oz of Schwartzhog, and if it's summertime a beer or three (sometimes) or a good single malt and a good cigar on the porch.
 
Feeling good is elusive these days... no need to make it harder.
 

Alcohol has never agreed with me. I can sort of appreciate that one drink buzz but anything more than that just makes me feel like crap. Not necessarily sick - that doesn't come until 6 or 7 drinks - but just kind of wired and emotionally blank. I don't think that's the "normal" reaction to alcohol but it's certainly mine. 
 
I hear other people say two things about alcohol that are the exact opposite for me. Firstly that it helps them get to sleep - if I have so much as one drink it takes me hours to sleep, I just lie there with my eyes wide open. Secondly that it makes them feel frisky and enhances sex - again, so much as one drink and I am completely and utterly incapable (and unwilling) on that score 
 
"Herbs" have the proper desired affect on me, but I'll only partake in that once in a blue moon. Any more frequently and my daily motivation tends toward the "eating cereal and watching cartoons" side of things. 

Well, that would be a frosty pint of beer on a hot day.
 
 
Oh wait.... I read the question wrong. You asked "best drink for a cold" not "best cold drink"... yeah.. that might still hold true.

sharke
Cup of warm water, spoonful of honey, 1/5 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. 
 
I felt a cold coming on the other day so started drinking this twice a day. It has a real kick to it. I wait till it cools then drink it with a straw because I'm not keen on getting vinegar on my teeth. Don't drink on an empty stomach because of the cayenne, which will really get your circulation going. I never realized what a stimulant cayenne is, you can feel the blood rushing through your veins when you have enough of it. Makes me feel, how shall I put it......frisky 

Honey although not a drink is said to BE as good or better cough medicine as an actual cough medicine.