Time for Tea & Gin – an alternative to G&T
G&T is wonderful; but tea with gin can be a delicious new alternative. For the past few years, tea has been experiencing a renaissance (Source: National Tea Day*). And as we ease out of lockdown, where the comfort of tea has been valued even more, tea is now seen as exciting, interesting, and delicious. Combine interesting teas with what is arguably one of the most distinctive gins – Brockmans Gin – and you have drinks that takes you from tea-time into elegant evening cocktails.
Tea connoisseurs have gone so far as to point out that it is the drink for those who want to experience ‘sensuousness and well-being’. Brockmans Gin has incorporated tea into two very different cocktails that are elegant and showcase the surprising berry notes in this extraordinary gin.
Brockmans Smoke on the Water
First, we have Smoke on the Water. This is a smoky, tantalising infusion of a cocktail using sage and rosemary and the intriguing, smoky taste of Lapsang Souchong tea. This is certainly a ‘G and Tea’ recipe with a difference.
Lapsang tea leaves take on their distinctive taste and smell by being smoke-dried over pinewood fires. Considered a delicacy now, Lapsang Souchong was the first black tea in history.
Brockmans Gin combines 11 botanicals giving this gin brand, now 10 years old, its distinctive aroma and taste profile. It brims with berries and botanicals sourced from across the world: juniper from Italy; lemon peel from Murcia in Spain; bitter-sweet orange peel from Valencia; Bulgarian coriander seed, providing a slightly spicy sage note which is picked up elsewhere in this cocktail; cassia bark from Indo-China; blueberries and blackberries from Northern Europe; liquorice from China, providing a sweet woody aroma; angelica from Belgium and Saxony, bitter almonds, from Spain; and Italian orris root.
Ingredients
50ml Brockmans Gin
15ml Lemon juice – freshly squeezed
10ml Cointreau
25ml Lapsang Souchong tea
25ml Sage syrup
Garnish: fresh sage leaf and a sprig of rosemary.
Method
Make the tea and cool it. Add the sage syrup. Stir the first four ingredients together in an Old-Fashioned glass filled with ice. Add the Lapsang Souchong tea and syrup mixture.
Garnish with the sage leaf and rosemary.
Berry Tea
Here we have an infusion whose red berry notes combine with the blackberry and blueberry notes that are present in the gin to provide a light, summery, slightly floral concoction with a touch of cucumber to garnish that makes this perfect for summer nights.
Ingredients
50ml Brockmans Gin
25ml Elderflower cordial
35ml Red berry puree
20ml Lemon juice
Chilled red berry tea
Garnish: cucumber, blackberry, and mint
Method
Shake all ingredients apart from the tea with ice. Strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with tea and stir. Garnish with crushed ice, a long thin slice of cucumber, a blackberry and a small sprig of mint.
Stockists
Brockmans Gin (RRP £34) is stocked by ASDA, Booths, Co-Op, M&S, Morrisons, Ocado, Tesco and selected speciality retailers and online retailers including the brand’s own online shop: https://www.brockmansgin.com/shop/