I have a friend named Larisa – she’s pretty cool. She’s the marketing manager at the Andaz Hotel in Hollywood and a few months ago she brought me a Tealeaves sampler after meeting with them at the hotel. Knowing I’m a lover of beverages beyond my beloved whisk(e)y she thought I would enjoy the tea… and she was right. She was also right that I would immediately think about turning them into iced tea cocktails.
After sampling the teas we chatted. One thing lead to another, introductions were made, and I soon found myself with a mound of various teas in my kitchen and the daunting task of creating some iced tea cocktail recipes. Recipes that put the beauty of their teas on full display, but also balanced with the whiskey of my choosing. I chose Wild Turkey.
It’s no secret that Wild Turkey is my favorite bourbon brand. The sweet, spicy and woody / earthy characteristic of the bourbon hits all the right notes at just the right frequency for me. That spicy, rye-driven, nature also presented a unique challenge to balance out in the iced tea cocktails.
The first thing I did was brew a LOT of tea so I could taste everything they offer. That in-and-of itself was no small effort, but after about 5 hours I had sipped them all hot and then circled back to sip them at room temp followed by a small amount in a 4oz glass with a single ice cube. Taking notes along the way I had begun to formulate which teas would go well with which Wild Turkey in iced tea cocktails.
I then poured decent sized glasses of Russell’s Reserve 10 year, Rare Breed, Forgiven (new batch / white tube) and Kentucky Spirit and tasted them with the teas. Some of my assumptions were right, some were wrong and in the end I landed on a handful of combinations I really enjoyed.
From there I started figuring out what kind of flavors I wanted to experiment with and laid out 13 rough iced tea cocktails that I wanted to play with and went shopping the next morning. Not because I was too drunk to drive or anything, but because it was 3 am.
I spent following Sunday making simple syrups (rosemary, mint and thyme) brewing, mixing, tasting, tweaking and cutting recipes that just didn’t work till I arrived at my final 7 iced tea cocktails. Once the list was locked in I emerged from a sea of tea and bourbon and hooked back up with the Tealeaves people and we set a date for a fancy professional photoshoot at the Andaz in Hollywood. Hope you enjoy.
7 Iced Tea Cocktails to Finish Out The Summer With
Old Fashioned Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2oz Wild Turkey Forgiven
- 1 TB simple syrup
- Angostura bitters (2-3 dashes)
- 3/4 cup Black Tea
Stir all ingredients together and pour over ice – one large ice cube if you have it.
Mist with orange peel, garnish with the same and enjoy!
Mint Julep Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2 oz Russell’s Reserve 10 years.
- 1 TB Mint Simple Syrup
- Mint Leaves
- Green Tea
Muddle mint leaves at the bottom of a Collins glass and fill 1/2 with ice.
Mix whiskey and simple syrup and pour over ice.
Fill glass with tea.
Stir and enjoy!
Blackberry Peach Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2oz Kentucky Spirit
- 1TB Thyme Simple Syrup
- Blackberries
- Peaches
- T-Blend
Muddle blackberries in the bottom of a Collins glass.
Layer ice and peaches till glass is between 1/2 – 3/4 full.
Mix whiskey and simple syrup then pour over ice.
Fill with tea.
Stir and enjoy!
Strawberry Rosemary Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2oz Wild Turkey Rare Breed
- 1 TB Rosemary simple syrup
- Strawberry preserves
- 1/4 cup forzen strawberry cubes
- Mint leaves
- Black Tea
After brewing the tea, while it’s still hot, stir in 2-3 spoons of strawberry preserves. Cool & refrigerate tea like you normally would to make iced tea.
Dice up about 1/4 cup worth of strawberries and freeze in a single layer.
Do the below AFTER the tea has cooled and strawberries have frozen.
Muddle mint leaves in bottom of Collins glass.
Layer ice and frozen strawberry bits till between 1/2 – 3/4 full.
Mix whiskey with simple syrup.
Pour over ice.
Fill with strawberry tea.
Stir.
Garnish with rosemary sprig and enjoy!
Berry Blast Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2 oz Kentucky Spirit
- 1TB Mint simple syrup
- Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries
- Mint leaves
- Lime
- Oolong Tea
Muddle mint and then muddle several of each berry in the bottom of a Collins glass.
Fill between 1/2 -3/4 with ice.
Mix whiskey with simple syrup.
Pour over ice.
Squeeze about 1/4 of a lime worth of juice in. 1/2 if you like it tart.
Fill with tea.
Stir and enjoy!
Black and Blue Arnold Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2 oz Rare Breed
- 1TB Mint simple syrup
- Blackberries and blueberries
- 1/4 of a lemon
- Lemonade
- T-Blend
Muddle berries in the bottom of a Collins glass.
Fill between 1/2 -3/4 with ice.
Mix whiskey with simple syrup, squeezed lemon and ~ 1/4 cup of lemonade.
Pour over ice.
Fill with tea.
Stir and enjoy!
Triple Black Iced Tea Cocktail
- 2 oz Russell’s Reserve 10 Year
- 1TB Black Walnut Sweetshine
- Blackberries
- Black Tea
Muddle blackberries in a Collins glass.
Fill between 1/2 -3/4 with ice.
Mix whiskey with Sweetshine.
Pour over ice.
Fill with tea.
Stir and enjoy!
A big thanks to the folks at Tealeaves, it was a great collaboration and a MASSIVE thanks to Larisa and Andaz for the hook-up and the setting. Also, thanks to Wild Turkey for making such tasty bourbon
Hope you enjoyed reading about these 7 Iced Tea Cocktails to Finish Out The Summer With because I definitely enjoyed making the recipes and this post. If you decide to make one of these let me know how it went in the comments below. Till next time. Cheers!
