Grampa used to make hot butter-rum...with honey. Yum!
When my kids were little I made a delicious herbal tea from goodies I gathered from my land. I added honey to the mix to sweeten it. The effect was to knock down the respiratory honking cough and resulting infection before it got them sick.
When I’ve had horrid bronchitis outbreaks, honey, whiskey, and lemon in hot tea did the trick — in just a few hours.