This is the sort of drink that I wonder why I didn’t think of sooner. But then this is the sort of relentlessly hot day where sipping cold beverages next to a fan seems the only fitting activity and I’ve had iced tea on the brain. Last weekend we met a friend for her birthday- first time in a booming bar on a Friday night in awhile. As I waited to order my beer and watched the bartender make three Long Island Ice Teas I wondered how I ever drank those things but then I thought wait… tea, cocktail. Hello! I can do that. And then I read the forecast and knew it would be soon.
And it is awesome. If you like Arnold Palmers, half iced tea half lemonade you will crave Earl Grey Infused Vodka and Lemonade. Infusing the tea in the vodka gives you the perfect balance of boozy tea and lemonade- nothing overwhelms the other. I used raspberry lemonade and it was just right, strong enough to hold up as the ice begins to melt but not so strong you’re overwhelmed at the first sip.
I made a scant six ounces of infused vodka because I’d rather leave most of the vodka in its natural state. It only takes a couple of hours but you are certainly welcome to make as much as you’d like, just up the amount of tea and/or increase the infusion time.
I used loose tea Ahmad Earl Grey Tea
, our go to loose tea. It’s fairly inexpensive and so much more satisfying than teabags. Perfect for Kombucha or projects like this.
Earl Grey Infused Vodka and Raspberry Lemonade
ingredients
- Six ounces medium grade vodka
- 1 teaspoon loose earl grey tea
- Lemonade of choice
directions
- Combine the vodka and tea in a glass jar and let steep for about two hours (Longer and it will likely turn bitter)
- Strain out the tea leaves and serve or store in a lidded jar or bottle until ready to use.
- To make the vodka and lemonade simply pour two ounces of the earl grey infused vodka into a sixteen ounce glass filled with ice. Top with the lemonade of your choice and cheers, now go sit by that fan. Sip, sigh, and repeat.
Earl Grey Infused Vodka and Lemonade
Ingredients
- Six ounces medium grade vodka
- 1 teaspoon loose earl grey tea
- Lemonade of choice
Instructions
- Combine the vodka and tea in a glass jar and let steep for about two hours (Longer and it will likely turn bitter)
- Strain out the tea leaves and serve or store in a lidded jar or bottle until ready to use.
- To make the vodka and lemonade simply pour two ounces of the earl grey infused vodka into a sixteen ounce glass filled with ice. Top with the lemonade of your choice and cheers, now go sit by that fan. Sip, sigh, and repeat.
The link herein is an affiliate link, meaning if you choose to purchase through this link to Amazon I will get a small cut. I’ll still be buying my tea at the local market.
Love anything earl grey flavoured. This lemonade looks and sounds super refreshing and delicious. Love the shots too.
Genius idea! I have some loose leaf Earl Grey in my kitchen right now (and vodka, of course 😉 ). I’ll definitely be trying this one out.
Excellent! Please let me know how you enjoyed your cocktail!
I have a friend with quite a sweet-tooth – do you think it is safe/reasonable to add a little sugar (of some sort) to the infusion itself? Or do you find the lemonade adds sufficient sweetness? Thanks for sharing this btw, going to try it soon!
I find the lemonade is sweet enough but I tend to like things less sweet. IF I was to sweten the infusion I would probably use simple syrup, that way you could add it at any stage of the cocktail experience.
Thanks Melinda! That makes perfect sense re: using a simple sugar syrup instead of adding it to the infusion. We went ahead with this using our favourite earl grey and it’s beautiful! But we learned that the person we’re gifting it to can’t really have lemonade (or acidic foods) for medical reasons. So to make it easier, we’ve added around 40 grams of light brown sugar to the 500ml bottle, and it seems like a nice balance – that way he can easily mix with soda water without needing anything extra. My only concern is that since adding the sugar, the infusion seems to have become cloudy. Before it was a rich brown-red colour, but had a clarity to it. Any ideas how to overcome this cloudyness or am I stuck with it? It only appeared after the sugar was added…
I’m guessing that you are stuck with it.
I’ve never presweetened any of my infusions so I’ve got no direct experience with this. I do know Ice Tea turns cloudy when refrigerated if brewed at too high a temperature (shouldn’t be relevant here) and limoncello is supposed to become cloudy in its final stage (perhaps relevant but I don’t have the science to confirm one way or the other)
I hope it all works out and if it tastes good then I say it turned out the way it was supposed to!
Yeah, very true. Well I appreciate the reply and your advice! Will definitely be making this again (although not likely sweetened), it’s really good! I’ve also got some chocolate infused vodka on the go now using raw cacao beans, a vanilla pod, and a tiny ravel of cinnamon. No idea what it tastes like yet but smells really good.
Richard,
I’ve done a cinnamon vanilla vodka and that’s really nice. I bet the cacao beans add a nice touch. Yum!
This earl grey infused vodka lemonade drink is really amazing. I have tried this at home. Also added 2 drops of ginger juice into this drink. ( tried both the drinks actually ). Thanks for sharing this unique recipe. Regards and much love
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! I love the idea of adding ginger juice- next time I make this (Which I suspect will be soon) I’ll have to try that.