Green Tea-Infused Vodka

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Using a funnel, place the tea leaves into the bottle of vodka. If necessary, lightly crush them first or use a chopstick to poke them through the funnel.

3. Replace the cap of the bottle and shake well.

4. Steep for about 10 hours, or to taste.

5. Pour the infusion through a strainer and funnel into a different bottle or jar. If needed, strain a second time to remove all of the leaves.

Which Tea Should You Choose?

While it may be tempting to use ordinary bags of generic green tea for your vodka, the choice may leave you disappointed. Instead, choose a good loose-leaf green tea. There are many styles—from jasmine green tea to Dragonwell green tea—to choose from and it's difficult to pick a bad one if they're quality leaves.

• You might also choose a flavored green tea such as a yuzu sencha blend (this is highly recommended).

• Depending on the tea, you may need to adjust the infusion time. Give it a small taste test every 2 to 3 hours until you find the flavor you enjoy most.

Sweeten Your Vodka Into a Green Tea Liqueur

Much like sweetening iced tea, green tea vodka can be sweetened slightly to create a liqueur. You may find that you enjoy this more with certain types of tea if they come off too bitter in the alcohol.

To do this, you will simply add a small amount of simple syrup to the finished vodka infusion. It can be done immediately after the infusion or when you've had some time to taste the infusion on its own.

• Begin with 1 tablespoon of syrup for 750 milliliters of vodka. Add it to the vodka and seal the bottle, then shake it for about 30 seconds. 

• Taste the vodka and add another tablespoon if you like. Shake again.

• Continue this process until the liqueur is to your personal taste. Toward the end, you might want to add just a teaspoon of syrup at a time.

• Store the green tea liqueur in the refrigerator.

How to Drink Your Green Tea Vodka

You will find that the subtle flavors of green tea make this vodka surprisingly versatile and a pleasant addition to a variety of drinks. Though certainly not all the ways you can enjoy your new vodka, here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Chilled and served straight or poured on the rocks and slowly sipped.

• As a refreshing sweet tea-lemonade drink: Mix 2-ounces each tea vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Served over ice in a tall glass and topped with sparkling water.

• Vodka tonic with green tea vodka is fantastic and it makes an excellent drink to serve with dinner. It's also a nice palate cleanser in between courses.

• The easiest way to make a great "Green Tea Martini" is to use this infused vodka in the basic Vodka Martini recipe. You'll find that it's crisp and refreshing.

• Enjoy this vodka in any other vodka cocktail that has a light flavor profile like those with lemonade, citrus fruits, and sodas. Fruits and other ingredients with heavier flavors will drown out the taste of the tea so you'll barely be able to recognize it.

• Use it as a substitute for other tea-infused spirits such as in a Gunpowder Gimlet cocktail.