Does Iced Tea And Vodka Taste Good
Vodka is a great way to spike your iced tea without dramatically altering its flavor. But if you go this route, try adding something extra to boost the complexity and depth of the teas flavor: vanilla syrup. A little vanilla brings out summers dreamy bounty of fresh herbs in both black and green iced tea.
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Earl Grey Bourbon Cocktails
Pull out your fancy pants glasses when you whip up one of these Earl Grey cocktails created by Beginning with Bergamot.
This gorgeous and delicious boozy tea cocktail is a mix of Earl Grey tea, bourbon, blackberries, and simple syrup. This fragrant and festive drink gives me another reason to be thankful that I always have some homemade simple syrup on hand for just this type of occasion.
The First Long Island Iced Tea
The Long Island iced tea cocktail goes back to 1972 in the town of Hampton Bays. A bartender named Rosebud Butt mixed the drink for a cocktail contest. He blended the four biggest selling liquors in a glass then added orange flavored tripel sec to help mellow the strong drink. The cocktail took off and is still one of the most requested drinks, especially among younger adults who are looking for a stronger drink.
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Boozy Sweet Tea Cocktails To Make Tonight
Just because its cocktail hour doesnt mean you have to abandon your favorite tea. Tea is such a versatile ingredient. You can literally come up with thousands of recipes for boozy sweet tea cocktails for your next gathering.
And the great thing is most of these creations are delicious even without the added alcohol. So if you have friends who shy away from an alcoholic tea recipe, you can whip up a virgin one just as easily.
Here are 15 tea cocktail recipes to get your next gathering started off right.
Iced Tea Cocktails To Finish The Summer With

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I have a friend named Larisa shes pretty cool. Shes 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 Im a lover of beverages beyond my beloved whisky 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.
Its 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.
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Mad Hatters Tea Party
There are very few tea-flavored distilled spirits available. While theyre nice to explore when you find them, its actually effortless to create your own tea-infused liquors. Simply place tea bags in the alcohol and allow it to steep until it reaches your preferred taste . As inspiration, give this summer royale tea-infused rum a try in the mad hatter tea party cocktail.
Which Type Of Tea Makes The Best Iced Tea
The iced tea can transform this drink into an entirely different experience every time. Begin with your favorite tea blend for iced tea, then play with it to bring in various flavor profiles. Black teas are a good universal place to begin, offering that classic iced tea taste. Green teas have more of a vegetal profile, while herbal teas create a lighter foundation with a floral aspect.
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Shopping List For Spiked Tea Cocktails Recipes:
Sweet Tea Vodka Drinks:
- Raspberries or Strawberries
- Vodka
Special Tip: You can find all the measurements in the recipe card below. There you can choose how many servings of this tea cocktail recipe you want to make, and it will do all the measurement math for you!
Up next, how to make spiked sweet tea cocktails
Jasmine Green Tea Palomas
Get ready for another absolutely gorgeous boozy tea cocktail! The Moody Mixologist created this pretty in pink paloma recipe.
Like a traditional paloma with tequila and grapefruit juice, this one mixes in the addition of jasmine green tea and muddled raspberries. I love it when a drink is as delicious as it is beautiful.
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White Tea Vodka Smash
This cool boozy tea can be made with either white tea, or peach white tea if you want a fruity drink. Created by Sips by, this mixture of tea,, lemon juice, and honey has the addition of the surprising flavor of fresh thyme.
Your choice of gin or vodka lets you personalize the drink to your taste. A bit of sparkling water adds just a touch of bubbles.
John Daly’s Grip It And Sip It
It’s hard to say anything about professional golfer John Daly that isn’t instantly summed up in this video. Naturally, Daly creating his own alcoholic Arnold Palmer makes perfect sense… as Daly is basically an alcoholic Arnold Palmer himself. Available in “regular with lemon” and “half and half” , with expertly branded packaging featuring Goofy Golfer Plaid, the instructions to consume Daly’s first foray into alcohol are built right into the name: you grip it, then you sip it. It’s like the liquid embodiment of John Daly’s entire career, in the comfort of your own palm.
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- Cookie Settings
Also Check: How To Prepare Matcha Green Tea
Handy Tools For The Home Bartender:
Microplane Bar Tool Has 7 functions in 1 tool! Muddle, stir, strain, garnish, cut, score and peel with just one tool. Make this item your go-to for any drink.
Cocktail Jigger makes it super easy to measure for your favorite cocktails to get that perfect flavor combo!
Collins Glasses are the glasses I used in the photos for this recipe. Perfect for tea and lemonade too.
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How To Make Spiked Iced Tea Recipes:

Special Tip: You can find these directions, along with measurements, nutrition and more in the sharable recipe card in the next section!
Up next, a sharable recipe card for the 5 best tea cocktail recipes
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Boozy Iced Tea Cocktail Recipes To Quench Your Summer Thirst
Summer has officially arrived, and were already expecting some scorchin temps. To beat the heat this weekend, were planning nothing more ambitious than to break out the spiked sweet tea and kick back on the porch swing with a good book. Any iced tea recipe can become something special when you throw in some fruits of summer: peaches, berries, oranges, lemons or limes. Some muddled herb like basil or mint will also add a nice flavor. Then just add a glug of booze to the pitcher for a thirst-quenching iced tea cocktail. Whether you favor green tea, black tea or a flower-infused blend like Earl Grey, theres a liquor to go with every single one. Scroll on for 15 booze-infused iced tea cocktails that are sure to hit the spot.
1. Iced Green Tea Mojitos: This drink combines all the delicious flavors of a sugary sweet mojito with the tang of green tea and a spike of rum. Bonus: Green tea is healthy!
2. Sweet Tea Vodka Lemonade Mojitos: The combination of sweet tea and tart lemonade mixed with muddled fresh lemon juice and fresh mint is craaaaazy good. You barely taste the vodka, but youll definitely feel the zing.
3. Spiked Ginger Iced Tea: This iced tea cocktail calls for pantry staples you probably have on hand. Orange Pekoe tea, honey, vodka and ginger ale combine to make a perfect summer cooler.
15. Spiked Arnold Palmer: No time to brew tea? No problemo. This spiked tea cocktail is made with tea-infused vodka and calls for just three ingredients.
How Strong Is An Electric Iced Tea
While it may look like a strong drink since you’re pouring not one or two, but five different liquors into an electric iced tea, it’s not the strongest drink in the bar. The total amount of liquor adds up to just 2 1/2 ounces. Alcohol does make up the majority of the drink, but reality sets in when you run the numbers.
With 80-proof spirits and a 30-proof curaçao, the average electric iced tea weighs in at around 21% alcohol by volume . The drink can be even milder if more soda is added. To put this number into perspective, this drink is stronger than the rum and Coke but significantly weaker than the Manhattan.
Recipe Tags:
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Can I Put Vodka In Tea
To make the iced tea vodka pour vodka into a glass jar or container and add in tea bags. Cold brew bags work great for this but regular bags will work too, they just take longer. Cold brew bags will be ready in half an hour, regular tea bags take a couple hours. Remember, you are trying to make a concentrate.
More Rum Cocktails To Try:
Spiked Apple Cider has just three ingredients, including black spiced rum. It’s great for fall and so easy to make.
Rum and Ginger Cocktail is another super simple mixed drink. Made with ginger ale and black spiced rum. It’s really refreshing and delicious.
Pineapple Rum Punch is a fruity mixed drink that I love for parties. All it needs is a tiny umbrella and you’ll think you are on the beach.
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What Youll Find In This Article:
- Ingredients in Tea Infused Vodka Cocktails
- How to Make Tea Based Cocktail Recipes
- 5 Spiked Iced Tea Cocktail Recipes
- Nutrition and Calories in Iced Tea Cocktail Recipes
Helpful Tip for Shopping: Take a screenshot of the shopping list to your phone. This way you have it at your fingertips the next time you go grocery shopping.
Recipe Card Uses: You can email yourself this recipe card so you can easily search for it Or print it so you have it handy, and can make notes. You can even pin this tea based cocktails recipe card to Pintrest so it is safely stored for you.
Up next, a shopping list for the best tea drinks with alcohol
Your Afternoon Tea Just Got Boozier
Iced tea is the drink of summer. It’s refreshing, it contains health benefits, and it has enough caffeine — depending on the type of tea — to function as an afternoon pick-me-up. Overall, iced tea is a winning drink. How can such a sweet nectar be improved? With the addition of booze, of course.
The hard tea market is currently booming. There are green teas spiked with liquor that are kissed with the flavors of passionfruit. There are subtly alcoholic white teas fragrant with the summery taste of peaches. There are classic black teas, with lemon, that can rival any beer. In fact, there are so many great hard teas out right now, it can be difficult to suss out the stars from the duds.
So here are our findings: some of the best hard iced teas you’d be a fool not to drink this summer. They won us over, and we’ll bet our last lemon wedge they’ll win you over, too.
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Ingredients For Lemon Bourbon Sweet Tea
- Black Tea – Black tea is a great choice for making sweet tea. Any type will work, but Earl Grey is a great choice.
- White Sugar, Ginger, and Lemon Juice – Simmer these in water to make a flavored simple syrup.
- Bourbon – We preferred this Southern-inspired cocktail with bourbon, but we also tested it with our favorite local gin and loved those flavors as well!
- Bitters – Frank always says that bitters are like the salt of the cocktail world. This cocktail will taste flat without them. Dont skip the bitters and feel free to add more, to taste.
How Much Sweetener To Add

I like making sweet tea vodka myself because I get to decide how much sweetener to add. Instead of granulated sugar, I use simple syrup which is equal parts sugar and water heated until clear. If you plan on pairing your Sweet Tea Vodka mostly with lemonade I recommend adding 2 4 Tablespoons simple syrup to the tea vodka. If you plan on drinking it with plain water, Id add somewhere between 6 8 Tablespoons simple syrup.
Remember, you can always add more sweetener, but you cant take it away!
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Try Serving Spiked Iced Tea At Your Next Party Or Gathering
My favorite time to make a pitcher of hard iced tea is when Im having a summer barbecue.
I like to stir in some fruit before serving, such as fresh berries or sliced citrus fruit.
Your friends will be impressed with how pretty it looks.
And this beverage goes perfectly with all sorts of food from Guacamole Veggie Burgers and corn on the cob to Cauliflower Curry Grill Packets and Mediterranean Orzo Salad.
And if not all of your guests drink alcohol, you can make a pitcher of sweet tea and let people mix in their own jigger of booze.
Chilled Alcoholic Tea Drinks
If youre looking for a cool and refreshing drink you can enjoy once the weather starts warming up, why not make a fresh pitcher of iced tea and mix it with your favorite alcohol for a great way to beat the heat?
Many of the drinks Ive covered here can also be enjoyed iced. In fact, if youre looking for a stronger drink, try making cold brew tea and adding your favorite blend of alcohol, flavored syrups, and fruit.
Of course, with cold brew tea, the longer you brew it, the stronger the flavor. When making iced tea drinks, avoid adding the tea, fruit, or flavored syrup until the last minute, in order to prevent the tea from fermenting in the fridge. Keep the pitcher free from sweeteners and just add them to the glasses instead.
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Ingredients In Tea Infused Vodka Cocktails
Whether youre looking for a blueberry vodka green tea cocktail, or black tea iced drinks, weve got all the flavors you crave in these yummy spiked iced tea recipes.
You can actually make all these green tea drinks, or all black tea drinks. Feel free to use your favorite tea in these recipes. You may find a new combination youll love.
Skinny Iced Tea Cocktail With Homemade Unsweetened Tea Vodka
This refreshing Skinny Iced Tea Cocktail clocks in at just 140 calories! Make it with your favorite tea.
Commercial iced tea vodka is loaded with sugar, but you can make your own for this Skinny Iced Tea Cocktail and save your waist line. Very easy and delicious too!
Ive never spoken about it here on the blog, but I have Hashimotos and Graves Disease. If you dont know about these two conditions, Ill give you the briefest run-down. They are both autoimmune diseases that affect the thyroid. Hashis tends to slow down your metabolism while Graves speeds it up.
I take medicines to manage things, but its a lot of ups and downs on the scale. While I love the months that pounds just fall off effortlessly, there are also times that I look at food and gain weight. So recently, despite lots of exercise and eating normally, I recently packed on about 10 pounds in addition to the bit I gained on a series of vacations.
To compensate, Ive been trying to eat smarter and make compromises without making life no fun.
Vodka sodas get really boring really fast so I decided to change it up and make a vodka tea and soda. If you want to watch the calories, you cant use the sweet tea stuff you find at the liquor store. Most brands are super duper sweet.
My favorite was Rooibos Tropica from Teavana with Harney and Sons Chamomile and Lavender coming in at a close second. This batch is a half and half blend of Twinings Rooibos and Red Rose Original.
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