Peter Gordon's Expedition Tea Cocktails
An adventurous take on two classics.
Like changing your skincare regime from season-to-season, our New Year's Eve drinks menu deserves a fitful switch-up. Known for his unique fusion cuisine, we tasked good friend and chef Peter Gordon with creating two cocktails using our Expedition Tea blend.
I wanted to create two cocktails that really tasted of the Expedition tea blend’s aromatic herbs – rooibos, honey bush and liquorice. Baobab adds no discernible flavour when cold-brewed like this but its antioxidants add goodness to the mix. I steeped mine for 2 days, but if you’re in a hurry you could use it after just one. Because these cocktails were really good, I’m now going to make 7 times the recipe (350ml of each spirit) which I’ll strain after two days and store in an empty gin bottle.
Expedition Spirit — alcohol base for two cocktails
Ingredients:
3 tsp loose Expedition tea
50ml gin
50ml vodka
1 tsp raw sugar (or other sweetener eg: honey, maple syrup, agave)
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Method:
Place everything in a jar, place the lid on top and shake. Leave the liquid at room temperature for two days. Gently shake a few times each day.
Strain before using.
Expedition Spritz — light & fruity
Ingredients (makes one cocktail):
50ml Expedition Spirit
6 thin slices lime
A handful of ice
125ml apple juice – I juiced 1½ apples, choose ones that aren’t too sweet nor too sour or use a commercial juice
Sparkling water
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Method:
Use a highball glass.
Tuck ice cubes and lime slices into your glass to ¾ fill it.
Pour in Expedition Spirit then the apple juice, gently swirl around making sure lime slices are visible.
Top with sparkling water.
Expedition Sour — rich, sour & boozy.
Ingredients (makes one cocktail):
50ml Expedition Spirit
25ml ginger syrup (we make our own at The Providores by juicing fresh ginger and simmering with water and golden caster sugar, but you can also buy some lovely ginger syrups)
20ml lemon or lime juice
1 egg white (adds texture to the cocktail)
A small handful ice cubes
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Method:
Use a chilled martini glass.
Place everything in a cocktail shaker (or a jar with a tight fitting lid) and shake vigorously – you want to whip some air into the egg white.
Pour into a chilled martini glass.