Iced Tea Cocktails
These three beverages are crisp and refreshing, perfect for any sunny day, and each one offers a unique flavor profile. They are also perfect crowd-pleasers, because you can serve them as mocktails, but they can easily be adapted into cocktails as well. Enjoy!
Each recipe serves 1
Peachy Green
6 ounces brewed green tea, cooled
Several chunks of fresh peach (about 1/3 of a fresh peach)
Several clean mint leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Place the peaches and a couple of mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle with the handle of a wooden spoon (or a muddler, if you have one) until the peaches are slightly smashed and the mint leaves are lightly bruised. Add the green tea and lemon juice, then add a few ice cubes and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes and strain the iced tea mixture into the glass. Garnish with fresh mint and serve immediately.
From mocktail to cocktail: add 1.5 ounces of light rum to the shaker with the green tea and lemon juice.
Pomegranate Sunrise
4 ounces brewed pomegranate tea, cooled
1 heaping teaspoon pomegranate molasses (found in many specialty markets)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 cardamom pod or generous pinch of ground cardamom
Chilled club soda
Lime wheel, for garnish
From mocktail to cocktail: add 1.5 ounces of silver tequila to the shaker with the tea and pomegranate molasses.
Put the lime juice and cardamom pod in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and crush the pod with the handle of a wooden spoon (if using ground cardamom, just mix together with the lime juice). Add the brewed tea, pomegranate molasses, and a few ice cubes to the shaker and shake well for 15 seconds. Fill a tall glass with ice cubes and strain in the tea mixture; top with club soda and garnish with a lime wheel. Serve immediately.
Orange Blossom
4 ounces hot Earl Grey tea
1 heaping teaspoon orange blossom honey
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger root
Fresh orange peel, for garnish
From mocktail to cocktail: add 1.5 ounces of rye whiskey or bourbon to the shaker with the tea mixture and fresh ginger.
Mix the orange blossom honey into the hot tea and let cool to room temperature. Using the bottom of a wooden spoon, crush the piece of fresh ginger lightly in the bottom of a cocktail shaker, then add the Earl Grey tea mixture. Add a few ice cubes and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass, then twist the fresh orange peel over the top of the liquid to release the essential oils and drop the peel into the glass. Serve immediately.
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