Tea is every Englishman’s drink of choice, so what better way to delve deeper into the world of cocktail experimentation than by adding tea to some classic recipes?
A number of sources I’ve consulted have suggested tea-infused sugar syrup or tea infused bourbon, but inspired by some recent reading, I’ve decided to prepare some tea-infused vermouth – a staple of a number of the old favourites already featured on this site.
On recommendation I’ve opted for a green tea infused dry vermouth and a chai infused sweet vermouth. The former to provide a healthy jasmine tint to the classic Martini, and the latter to spice up (quite literally) my Manhattans and Whiskey Sours.
The tea I’ve used has come from Jeeves & Jericho, a pair of upstarts from Oxford, who front a jolly good tea company and have been powering this site during daylight hours thanks to their delicious Scottish Brew.
Infusing any liquid with herbs, spices or tea leaves is a fairly simple process and is best worked at over time using a trial and error approach. With that in mind I’ve opted for two slightly different recipes.
China Jasmine Dry Vermouth
- Add one tablespoon of loose leaf green tea to 500ml of dry vermouth.
- Leave to infuse for twenty-four hours.
- Sieve and store in an air-tight bottle.
Spiced Masala Chai Sweet Vermouth
- Add six tablespoons of loose leaf Chai tea to 200ml of sweet vermouth.
- Leave to infuse for thirty minutes.
- Sieve and store in an air-tight bottle.
The Chai Sweet Vermouth is almost instantly ready for its first outing in a Chai Manhattan:
- Add a large measure of whiskey, a measure of chai vermouth and three splooshes of your preferred bitters (I used Boker’s) to a mixing glass.
- Stir well and strain into a Martini glass.
- Garnish with a cinnamon stick or a twist of lemon.
After twenty-four hours, the Green Tea Martini was ready as well:
- Add one part green tea vermouth, five parts gin and three splooshes of a fruity bitters (I used dandelion & burdock).
- Stir and strain into a Martini glass.
- Garnish with a twist of grapefruit or lemon.
Delicious and refreshing, both; just like the tea that inspired them.
