Random Recipe: Earl Grey Vodka

Monday, June 22nd, 2015

It's Earl Grey vodka! Yum, yum.

It’s Earl Grey vodka! Yum, yum.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m in love with Earl Grey tea. I usually have upwards of half a dozen different kinds of Earl Grey in my cupboards, from vanilla to floral to straight-up bergamot. Captain Picard has a special place in my heart for his love of the beverage, as does James Bond’s newest Q.

Earl Grey vodka

  • 1 bottle of decent vodka*
  • 7 bags of Republic of Tea’s Earl Greyer tea, or whatever Earl Grey you like best

Put the teabags into the vodka. Wait overnight, at least 12 hours. Remove teabags. That’s pretty much it!

I found literally dozens of different recipes for this, and so I ended up randomly choosing a method and going for it. I did, of course, choose the laziest version.

By itself, I found the vodka way too harsh for my tastes, which is true of basically all flavored vodkas. It’s beautifully scented of both tea and bergamot, but the vodka and tannins made it too rough on the palate for me, so, I put it in cocktails!

Tea Times Two

  • 1 part Earl Grey vodka
  • 1 part Zen green tea liqueur
  • 1/2 part half & half

Since all of my ingredients were cold (including my glass), I just mixed them up and went with it. Otherwise, I’d serve it on the rocks since it’s basically a modified White Russian. The sweetness of the Zen and cream took away the harshness from the vodka and delivered a gorgeous, fragrant tea flavor that I will definitely enjoy again.

Quartermaster

  • 1 part Earl Grey vodka
  • 1 part Nolet Silver gin
  • 1 part sweet vermouth
  • dash of lemon bitters
  • 2 cherries

I love the idea of martinis, but I don’t actually like the dryness of the usual vermouth. I love sweet alcohol, and the Nolet gin is sweet and very floral, with a delightful rose overtone that follows the juniper when drinking it straight. The lemon bitters help keep the bergamot from drowning in roses, and the cherries are there strictly to allow me to enjoy eating them later.

It’s a nice marriage between a Vesper and my usual “semi-perfect” martini, which is just gin and sweet vermouth with perhaps a dash of bitters.

White Londoner

  • 1 part Earl Grey vodka
  • 1 part simple syrup or vanilla syrup
  • 1 part half and half

Serve this one over ice for a London Fog twist on a White Russian. It’s a lovely sipping drink for those evenings curled up with the cats.

What are you going to make with Earl Grey?

*I used some Crystal Head that was a gift from a friend who knows me far too well. I have named him Dorian. He came with two of the adorable crystal skull shot glasses. It was love at first sight.

PS – If you’re not on my list, you might want to fix that! Bookmark sale starts tomorrow.

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