Porch Break

Cocktails

Jan 22

Written By Ben McElroy

Why Make It?

Sweet tea and lemonade is a classic combination that team up here with great results. The low ABV makes this cocktail perfect for relaxation on a hot summer day.
Next time you are thinking about making a whiskey sour, make a batch of black tea syrup. You will have cocktails for weeks to soothe all of life's worries.

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Author Thoughts

Porch Break is a variation on the classic whiskey sour. It takes a southern approach by using bourbon as the whiskey and adding black tea to the party. All ingredients that many have sitting in their pantry.

Don't be intimidated by the black tea syrup. It's easy to make and really no harder than making a simple syrup. If you use tea bags, you don't even have to worry about straining.

Keys To Success

Cocktails with citrus are best shaken. Shaking cocktails does three main things: it chills, it dilutes, and it aerates. The aeration is key when citrus and syrups are involved and shaking really improves the texture of the drink. If you look at the image of Porch Break you will see a layer of foam. This is from shaking.

With that being said, this cocktail is calling to be batched and served in a pitcher or punch bowl. If you want to serve it for a crowd, fill your serving vessel to the top [to the top] with ice and add all the ingredients along with 0.5 oz of water per serving. Depending on how much ice you use you may need to adjust the water amount. Add the water made up from the dilution that would have happened during shaking.

Black Tea Syrup

The tea syrup recipe is written with a hot brewed tea method. I think this is the better method when using typical black tea packaged in tea bags. This is the tea often used to make sweet tea at homes and in restaurants.

You could also make the tea syrup by cold brewing the tea. Follow the same ratios but just use room temperature water and let it sit on the counter or refrigerator, until you are happy with the flavor for [up to a day]. This can be a better option depending on the tea you are using. I prefer the cold brewing method if using teas with high amounts of tannins like loose leaf Assam tea.

A final note for anyone who wants to overthink what should be a simple cocktail. Steeping the tea longer and increasing the water temperature will make a tea syrup with more bitterness and astringency. This can be a desirable outcome in a cocktail that is using bitters for this same purpose. Feel free to experiment with your tea, steep time, and water temperature to make a more interesting cocktail.

Equipment

shaker - jigger - strainer

Porch Break

Makes: 1 Drink | ABV: 10 % | Total Time: 8 min | Glassware: double rocks or bodega

Ingredients

1 oz bourbon
1 oz lemon
1 oz tea simple syrup
1-4 dashes bitters [Angostura's]

Tea Syrup

20 g [8 tea bags] black tea
200 g [1 cup] sugar

Garnish

lemon wheel

Instructions

Prep: Make the tea syrup by adding 280 g [1 ¼ cup] of boiling water to the black tea. Steep for about 3 - 5 minutes. Strain the tea or remove the tea bags. Immediately add the sugar. Stir to dissolve. Cut a lemon wheel for garnish.
Shake: Measure all the cocktail ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and aerated.
Serve: Strain into a glass with ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Notes

The tea syrup is a simple syrup with a 1:1 ratio. The extra water is to account for what the tea leaves will absorb during brewing. It is typical that tea leaves will absorb 4 times there weight. If you are going by weight and want precise results. Simply make the tea concentrate, weight it, and then add an equal weight of sugar.

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Comments

Substitutions

Sweet or Tart: Feel free to adjust the ratio of lemon and tea syrup. If you like your sweet tea extra seet as more tea syrup and if you like your lemonade puckering tart consider adding more lemon juice.

Bourbon: The recipe is written with bourbon but any whiskey will work here. Rye Whiskey, scotch and even something barrel proof would taste great.