If you’re looking for a last-minute theme to guide your boozy night in with the girls, look no further. We’re throwing a boozy tea party, guys. Mad Hatter optional.
Tea doesn’t have to be hot. Neither does it have to be boring for all you brew haters out there. We scoured the deep dark depths of Pinterest to bring you some of the most interesting sounding ways to combine two of the nation’s favourite beverages (tea and well, booze, obvs). Here are some of the best cocktail recipes if you fancy giving that old box of green tea nearing its expiration date a new tipsy lease of life.
1. Earl Grey Tea Cocktail
Resist the temptation to scrunch your nose up at this recipe by Sugar and Charmand bear with us. Adding a splash of gin to your earl grey might not sound appealing at first, but if you really think about it, it doesn’t not make sense. The lavender will make the standard addition of honey and lemon a little bit more exciting, and I have a feeling this could soon become the new espresso martini. Maybe.
2. Rose Pomegranate Martini
Put the tea in marteani (couldn’t resist) and give this recipe over on A Beautiful Mess a whirl. They use a fancy white rose tea which you can order online, but you’ll get the same effect if you use a floral flavoured Twinings. This one does require at least a few hours of infusing the tea bag in vodka to properly get the flavour, so pre-warning: patience required.
3. Black Tea And Burnt Honey Old Fashioned
If the trust faithful Old Fashioned is your go to cocktail of choice, use this Artful Desperado recipe as an excuse to try a variation that you might love. You use actual black tea (or an earl grey if you fancy) rather than a few drops from an already diluted cuppa, so no feeling guilty for wasting half a cup of tea that you don’t really want to drink.
4. Iced Citrus And Gin Green Tea
If there’s one thing to learn from this is that gin and tea really do go well together. So, whip out those green tea bags from the back of your kitchen cupboards and whack ‘em in Heather Christo’s citrus and gin cocktail. This one is super quick and easy to make too, so will probably be a good way to get your evening started with minimum effort.
5. Spicy Matcha Margarita
Like a kick with your cocktail? Great because there are actual Jalapenos in this one by Wicked Spatula. It uses green tea as well as Matcha powder is you’re into that sort of thing, and to be fair, looks super Instagrammable. It’s described as a ‘spiked spicy green tea’, so if you’re hitting a slump towards the end of the day, this might be the pick me up you didn’t know you needed.
6. Bourbon Mint Iced Tea
You were waiting for an iced tea to pop up weren’t ya? Well, here it is, but with a cheeky bit of bourbon added to the BHG version. Traditional iced tea required a long old brew though. We’re talking anywhere between four hours and two days. Obviously, that’s how you’ll get the legitimate taste of it, but we’ll turn a blind eye if you try it with a bottle of Lipton's instead.
7. Long Island Apple Iced Tea
Okay. Not strictly a tea. Nor does it involve real tea. But it’s got tea in the name and it would be a shame not to direct you to this delightful apple version by Jennifer Meyering. Because apples in a Long Island will make you feel less guilty about drinking a Long Island, right?
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.