Lemon-Black Tea Liqueur
Ingredients
For steeping
- 5 tbsp/30g lemon zest 5 lemons*
- 2 c + 2 tbsp/500ml vodka
- ½ tsp/2g peppercorns
For syrup
- 1/3 c/70g sugar
- 1 c/240ml water
- ½ tbs/3g mild black tea leaves i.e. English breakfast or Assam
Instructions
- Combine vodka, lemon zest, and peppercorns in an airtight plastic or glass container.
- Soak for 3 days.
- Heat sugar and water until just simmering and sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and add tea.
- Steep 4-5 minutes. Strain and allow to cool.
- Strain lemon zest and peppercorns out of alcohol.
- Measure alcohol and tea syrup separately.
- Combine at approximately a ratio of 1 part tea syrup to 2 parts lemon steeped vodka (250ml tea syrup to 500ml steeped vodka). Adjust to taste.
- Store in airtight glass jars in a cool place. There is enough alcohol and sugar in this that it can be stored at room temperature.
Notes
*This is one place I do not recommend a microplane zester. The microplane only gets the very top layer of oils and zest with no pith – something that is great in concentrating the flavor in other places. Here, a bit of the bitter pith will actually balance out the flavor. I use a “lemon zester with channel knife”. They make 4 or 5 larger spirals with a bit of pith on each pull of the tool.