Tea-Quila Highball
by Joanne Weir
This drink is a specialty of James Meehan of PDT (Please Don't Tell) in New York City. If you don't have lemon verbena locally, it is widely available in teabags and online.
Serves 1
4 oz. hot lemon verbena tea
1/4 oz. agave nectar
2 oz. blanco tequila
1/2 oz. St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1 lemon zest spiral, for garnish
Tip:
To make lemon verbena tea: use 1/2 cup fresh or dried lemon
verbena leaves (12 to 15) or 2 teabags. Steep in 1 cup boiling water for
3 to 5 minutes. Strain.
Combine the tea and the agave nectar and set aside to cool. When cool, combine all of the ingredients except the garnish in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, stir for 10 seconds, and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with the lemon spiral.
To make a lemon zest spiral: remove a 4-inch by 1/4-inch strip of zest
from a lemon and wrap it around a cocktail stirrer, holding for 10
seconds. Slide the curl off the stirrer and add to your cocktail as
garnish.
photo: Lara Hata
From Book Tequila: A Guide to Types, Flights, Cocktails, and Bites
, pp. 43
July 11, 2012