Liquors for the buzz, bitters for the depth … and for flavor or sweetness? Most bartenders and mixologists will turn to syrups as the fast-and-easy solution in their cocktails. A few drops of mint syrup can put the “mint” into your julep, and homemade strawberry syrup is the secret to an extra-summery strawberry paloma. But there’s one ingredient sitting in your kitchen right now that you probably have never thought could be the key to bringing your cocktail game to the next level. The answer is … tea.
Sounds odd, doesn’t it? But using steeped tea as a liquid base for their homemade syrups instead of plain water is how a lot of bartenders like to do it. This simple switch adds incredible depth to your drinks — you get extra layers of complexity from the tea’s natural flavor, plus a gentle astringency as a fun little twist, while still maintaining the sweetness your cocktails need.
For what it can do, tea syrup is incredibly easy to make. It’s as simple as brewing your choice of tea, then putting it on the stove and stirring in the sugar. After a couple of minutes of boiling, take it off the heat and allow it to cool. Have a taste of the thick syrup and see how you like it — it’s almost a guarantee that you’d love it more than the normal version.
Feel free to experiment with different teas
If there’s one downside to this trick, then it’s that tea syrups aren’t quite the mix-with-anything ingredient that regular simple syrups are. Each kind of tea has its own character and only works best with certain spirits. Take regular black tea as an example — the malty flavor makes it an excellent fit for whiskey-based drinks like old-fashioneds and whiskey sours. Green tea’s lighter and more vegetal flavor makes it more useful for mixing with clean-tasting liquors like vodka. Try and make a vodka gimlet with it for a wowser of a drink.
Once you’ve toyed with the “normal” teas, take a shot at herbal teas. Lavender tea can work as a substitute for organic lavender flowers in this recipe for lavender simple syrup. The sweet fragrance can be an excellent counterpoint to the tart-sweetness of a tequila sour. You can also use it to add contrast to any strongly-scented or flavored drink, like a Colorado Bulldog, with its bold inclusion of coffee liqueur.
The fun of playing around with different teas and seeing what kind of flavor you can get is the exact reason why bartenders love their tea syrups so much. And if you’re one who like to experiment in their at-home mixing station, they could be yours, too!
