As tea cocktail gain popularity, many bartenders are finding new and innovative ways to make them. One popular method for making tea cocktails is infusing liquor with tealeaves and serving it straight, mixing it with simple syrup or using it as a base for more complex cocktails. Here's how to infuse black tea vodka for your own tea cocktails.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 hours
Total Time: 18 hours, 10 minutes
Yield: Ten two-ounce servings
Ingredients:
- 750 mL neutral-tasting vodka (a.k.a. "a fifth")
- 6 level teaspoons good quality black tealeaves (The tea can be flavored or unflavored, but unflavored tea vodkas usually have a cleaner, more mixable flavor. I used Yunnan Golden Buds for the vodka in the photograph.)
- Simple syrup (optional, to taste)
Preparation:
- Using a funnel, place the tealeaves into the bottle of vodka. If necessary, lightly crush them first or use a chopstick to fit them through the funnel and into the bottle.
- Replace the cap of the bottle and shake well.
- Steep for about 18 hours, or to taste.
- Pour the mixture through a strainer and funnel into a different bottle. (If you plan to add simple syrup, use a larger bottle.)
- Discard the tealeaves. Add simple syrup to the remaining solution if desired.
- Serve straight, on the rocks or as a base for more complex cocktails.
