3 July 2008 - 13:16A 4th of July Weekend Tea Cocktail…

In previous posts, I’ve talked about how to mix pre-made tea with spirits to make tea cocktails. Today, I’m going to discuss a slightly different approach: steeping the tea IN the spirit.

One of the more interesting tea-infused spirits I’ve developed is a Dragonwell (green tea) infused vodka, and the recipe couldn’t get much easier. Simply add 2 TABLEspoons of Dragonwell for every cup of vodka (I recommend TRU vodka)… that’s about 6 tablespoons (1/3 dry cup) tea for a 750 ml bottle. Cover, and shake the ingredients, then allow to steep for about 2 hours (not too long, or the tannins in the green tea will start to rear its bitter, ugly head!). Voila! You’ve got Dragonwell Vodka!

What can you use this for? Oh, I dunno — maybe a little thing I call Long Jing Iced Tea (ok, so the joke’s only really funny if you know that Long Jing is what the Chinese call Dragonwell). Here is the recipe:

LongFlavor explosions! Jing Iced Tea

2 oz Dragonwell-infused vodka
1/2 oz lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1/4 oz lime juice (fresh squeezed)
1 oz simple syrup (or agave nectar)
1 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz gin (recommended : G’Vine)
1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz tequila (recommended: Partida Reposado)

2 cups ice

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake vigorously. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon and lime wheels.

This is definitely going to make for a happy 4th of July!

2 Comments | Tags: Enjoyment, Recipes

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