Warming-up by a fire this season? Continue that cozy feeling with these toasty tea-inspired cocktail recipes. Teas of all kind have long been sips of comfort and socializing, making way for these perfectly prepared cocktail recipes featuring a range of your favorite herbal remedies.
Whether you’re looking for something bitter or sweet, teas are a versatile component to any cocktail. Allision Widdecome of award-winning bar Williams & Graham says, “tea can add not only flavor but also bitterness, sweetness, and sometimes even acidity – all elements that are essential aspects of a balanced cocktail.
For the experienced tea drinker, New York City’s Dante uses a tincture to leave a spritz of the delicate floral flavor of Earl Gray. If a tincture is too ambitious, your trusty at-home teapot is the mixology tool you never knew you had; impress your friends with The Afternoon Gin Tea cocktail built and brewed in a teapot for the ultimate grown-up tea party. For green tea devotees, award-winning mixologist Hemant Pathak from Michelin-starred restaurant Junoon, has made the perfect matcha cocktail to highlight a “beautiful triangle of Asian flavors using fruit (Umeshu Plum), spice (Star Anise), and tea (matcha green) with Dewar’s 12-year-old as the center” to create a “long lasting sweet and sour green flavor.”
With these delicious recipes, there is a cocktail for each variety of tea-lovers:
CEREMONIAL CHA
Created by Hemant Pathak at Junoon, New York City
1 ½ oz. Matcha tea infused DEWAR’S 12 Blended Scotch Whisky
¾ oz. Umeshu Japanese Plum Liqueur
½ oz. Lemon Juice
½ oz. Aquafaba
¼ oz. Matcha tea Syrup
½ Star Anise
Lightly muddle star anise inside the shaker, add rest of the ingredients and shake vigorously with ice. Double strain in a Coupe glass. Garnished with matcha tea dust.
DEWAR’S HOT TODDY
1 part DEWAR’S® 12 Blended Scotch Whisky
3 parts hot water
1 tea bag
Honey and lemon juice, to taste
Coat the bottom of a mug or an Irish coffee glass with honey. Add DEWAR’S and the lemon juice. On the side, heat water in a tea kettle and add the tea bag to make hot tea. Pour the hot tea into the glass and stir.
BERGAMOT NEGRONI
1 oz. Bombay Sapphire
¾ oz. Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Bitter
¾ oz. Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato
¼ oz. Italicus
3 dashes Earl Grey tincture
3 dashes TBT lemon bitters
METHOD: Stir & strain on fresh ice
GLASS: Rocks
GARNISH: Lemon leaf sprayed with bergamot oil
BREAKFAST IN BOMBAY
2oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
3/4oz Compound Grapefruit Earl Grey Oleo
1/2oz Lemon Juice
1/2oz Egg White
Created by Schuyler Hunton
AFTERNOON GIN TEA
1 star anise pod
1 dried Kaffir lime leaf, crumbled
5 whole black peppercorns
¾ cup hot brewed Lapsang Souchong tea (from the tea bag)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons honey
4 ounces (½ cup) Bombay Sapphire East gin
Fill a small square of cheesecloth with the star anise, Kaffir lime leaf, and peppercorns; tie it closed with twine. In a teapot, combine the spice bag, hot Lapsang Souchong tea, ginger, and honey. Add the gin and stir. Serve immediately in teacups.
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TEATIME CHEF
2 oz Grey Goose Interpreted by Ducasse
4 pinches Ground torrefied black cardamom
1 pinch Espelette pepper
0.5 dash Bob’s Cardamom Bitters
0.25 oz Pure maple syrup
0.75 oz Infused Ceylon tea (cold)
0.25 oz Elixir China Nardini
0.25 oz Amontillado secco Napoleon
Prepare in a shaker and strain into a carafe 1 hour before service.
