these recipes were previously published on August 14th, 2014
Summertime brings to mind clean, refreshing flavors and relaxed entertaining by the grill. Iced teas, tea sangrias and tea cocktails are a natural part of the scene. The seasonal bounty of fruits and fresh herbs make some of the best summer cocktails.
Strawberry Rhubarb Fizz
This cocktail is inspired by the classic summer pie and can be served chilled in a cocktail glass or over ice in a highball. It’s shown here with Tequila, but also works beautifully with rum, Cachaca or vodka. It can also be enjoyed as a Mock-tail.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces double strength black tea
- 2 ounces strawberry and anise hyssop puree *(recipe below)
- 1 ounce rhubarb simple syrup *(recipe below)
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1/2 of a lime
- orange bitters
- seltzer
- strawberry, sprig of anise hyssop or lime slice for garnish
Directions:
- Combine tea, tequila, strawberry juice and simple syrup with ice in a cocktail shaker.
- Squeeze in lime and add 2 or 3 dashes of orange bitters.
- Shake well and strain over fresh ice into a highball glass.
- Finish with a large splash of seltzer. For a lighter, more thirst quenching drink, the amount of seltzer can be increased.
- Stir and garnish with a lime wedge, sprig of anise hyssop or a strawberry.
Note: Double strength tea is made by steeping your tea leaves for the same time and temperature that you would normally use, but with twice the amount of tea leaves. Double strength teas are very handy to have for blending with other ingredients so flavors are not lost behind secondary ingredients.
Strawberry and Anise Hyssop Puree
Ingredients:
- 2 cups very ripe strawberries
- 1 large handful of anise hyssop
- Rhubarb simple syrup
Directions:
- Puree strawberries and anise hyssop, using just enough of the rhubarb simple syrup to get the blender to catch.
- Strain, pressing firmly on the solids with a ladle or the back of a spoon to extract all of the juice.
- Discard the solids.
Note: A blend of your favorite berries may be used instead of strawberries, if desired. Also, if good quality fresh berries are not available, frozen, defrosted berries may be substituted.
Rhubarb Simple Syrup
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 1 cup coarsely chopped rhubarb
- 1 wedge lime
Directions:
- Place sugar, water and rhubarb in a small saucepan and squeeze in the lime.
- Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until very tender.
- Strain through a fine sieve, pressing firmly on the solids to extract all the syrup.
- Discard the solids and set syrup aside to cool completely.
Note: If anise hyssop is not available, feel free to substitute fresh mint, basil, or add a teaspoon of anise seed to the Rhubarb Simple Syrup recipe while it is simmering. Rhubarb simple syrup is also wonderful drizzled over fresh berries, as a soda in seltzer, or as pancake syrup.
Summertime also brings back memories for me of chasing bumble bees away from our picnic table! Instead of chasing them away, I’d like to pay homage to them with a variation on the honeyed prohibition era classic, the Bees Knees. Back then honey and lemon juice were used to cover over the harsh taste of ‘bathtub gin’, but now we can simple enjoy the flavors and aromatics. In fact the general rise of cocktails during prohibition were for just this reason, to make poor quality alcohol more drinkable!
So many innovations in the culinary world came about as defensive measures. Looking back to medieval Europe, the heavy spicing in their recipes was to cover over the taste of rancid meat. Today we can choose to smoke, dry, cure or pickle simply because we enjoy the flavors, aromas and textures these techniques produce, not because we need these techniques to preserve our food in lieu of refrigeration. The origins of the Scottish ‘Hot Toddy’ was believed to be a variation on the often harsh scotch of the sixteen hundreds to make it palatable to more genteel Scottish women!
Bee’s Knees Mar-Tea-ni
This drink was first created with Swans Grey, the Earl Grey variant served for Afternoon Tea in ‘Swan’s Cafe’ at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers, which incorporates the traditional Italian Oil of Bergamot with vanilla and lavender in a blended black tea base. The recipe as shown is using a more traditional Earl Grey and adding the lavender to the gin infusion. Consider using your favorite Earl Grey and varying as appropriate.
- 2 ounces lavender Earl Grey infused gin
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 ounce honey
Shake well with ice. Serve strained in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with twist of lemon or a lavender sprig.
Infused Gin
- 1 liter gin (A nice herbaceous gin works particularly well like Tanqueray or Junipero)
- 1/2 cup of Earl Grey tea leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried lavender leaves (or 4 teaspoons fresh)
Place 1 liter of gin in a non-reactive container. Add lavender and tea leaves. Taste periodically until proper strength is achieved, around 45 minutes to an hour. Strain multiple times through cheesecloth or coffee filters until completely clear. Store at room temperature or chilled.
Optional: rim with lavender or vanilla sugar.
