This sparkling tea cocktail combines so many of my favorite flavors– black iced tea and sweet summer strawberries. Mixed with gin and topped with sparkling water, this drink is perfect for sipping on a warm day while catching up with friends.
With spring right around the corner, I've been dreaming of the fresh springtime produce that will soon abound! One of my favorite things to do with fresh fruits is to turn them into homemade simple syrups. They're great to add to lemonade, sparkling water and, my personal favorite, cocktails! Today's Sparkling Strawberry Tea Cocktail is a perfect example! I love this drink because it's not too strong and can be sipped at your leisure while unwinding from the day or catching up with friends.
Tea Cocktails
Tea cocktails are nothing new. In fact tea was often times used in 18th century punch recipes. Today using tea in cocktails is a great way to add complex flavors to some of your favorite pairings. Try pairing green tea with whiskey drinks, earl grey with bourbon and black tea with gin or rum to make your next alcoholic drink. Some cocktails will ask you to use a tea concentrate. Other will call for a tea syrup and in this one we use fresh brewed or store bought black tea.
Homemade strawberry simple syrup
As I mentioned, I love a homemade simple syrup made from fresh fruit. Simple syrup is a common ingredient in cocktails and other drinks because it blends so easily with other liquids. I used a blackberry simple syrup for this cocktail and loved it so much that I started experimenting with strawberry. This strawberry simple syrup combines honey instead of raw sugar to water and strawberries. It is really good when added to lemonade, too! If you can boil a cup of water, you can make homemade simple syrup!
Other cocktails made with tea
Tea cocktails are more common than you might think! From Green Iced Tea Mojitos to this Earl Grey Tea Cocktail there are so many great cocktails you can create with tea as a main ingredient. You can also substitute black tea for espresso in many cocktail recipes, including these gin lavender lattes. (Ironically, Long Island Iced Teas don't actually have tea in them.)
Tea Cocktail Recipe
Sparkling Strawberry Tea Cocktail
Ingredients
For the Homemade Strawberry Simple Syrup
- ¼ c chopped strawberries stems removed
- ¾ c water
- ⅓ c honey
For the Cocktail
- 4 oz gin
- 4 oz black iced tea store bought or fresh brewed, the stronger the better
- 4 oz sparkling water
For the Garnish (optional)
- 1 handful mint stems and leaves
- 4 strawberries
Instructions
For the homemade strawberry simple syrup
- Combine water, strawberries and honey in a small sauce pan over medium high heat
- Bring to a boil then reduce and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Remove from heat and allow to cool
- strain out any remaining strawberry pieces so that all that remains is the liquid strawberry simple syrup.
For the Cocktail:
- Pour ice into two tall glasses.
- Combine the black tea, gin and strawberry simple syrup and split between the two glasses
- Top each glass with sparkling water
- Garnish with mint and / or extra strawberries
Nutrition
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Karen says
I love these cocktail glasses. Can you tell me where I could buy some? Thanks!