Recipe courtesy of Joseph “JoJo” Tucker, Nick’s Cove
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Earl Grey tea–infused Spirit Works vodka*
- 2 generous dashes fennel bitters (we use Bar Keep Fennel Bitters)
- ¼ ounce elderberry syrup*
- 1½ ounces lemon juice (roughly a whole lemon)
- ¾ ounce honey syrup*
- Fennel frond for garnish
- 8 Earl Grey tea bags (we use Mighty Leaf)
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle Spirit Works vodka
- 2-ounce bag of dried elderberries (we buy ours at Oliver’s Market in Rohnert Park)
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups water
- 2 ounces honey
- 1 ounce hot water
Preparation
Place all ingredients into a shaker. Shake vigorously. The harder you shake, the more froth will appear at the top. Pour over ice in a Collins glass. Garnish with the fennel frond.
*EARL GREY INFUSED VODKA
Place the tea bags into the bottle of vodka and store in the refrigerator for 18–20 hours. Taste throughout the steeping process to monitor the infusion. Remove the tea bags once you can really taste the tea. Do not allow them to remain more than 20 hours or the mix will become too bitter.
To make a half portion, place 375 milliliters of the Spirit Works vodka in a large canning jar along with 4 bags of tea.
Infused vodka will keep in the refrigerator for many months.
*ELDERBERRY SYRUP
Bring elderberries, sugar and water to a boil, then lower to a simmer until reduced to a syrup, roughly 30 minutes. Refrigerate syrup and it will keep at least 2 months.
*HONEY SYRUP
Stir honey into hot water to dissolve. Use what you need and discard the rest.
