The World’s Best Sweet Tea
Regardless of if it’s hot, cold, windy, rainy, dreary or amazing outside, being an eternal optimist (an internet quiz told me so), I prefer to think of everything as great, ideal and requiring an exceptional drink to celebrate everything being awesome. An exceptional drink worthy of toasting good times? Sweet tea! Not to say toasting alcohol free is a problem, but sometimes you’ve earned a special treat like moonshine. Oh yes. Hello to The World’s Best Sweet Tea!
I might be showing my non-Southern, Southern roots here, but sweet tea is pretty great. It’s tea, but sweet! BOOM! It tastes great with barbecue, on a warm summer afternoon, sitting on a porch or (especially) with some shine added.
Here’s what you don’t want to do with this drink: fancy it up too much. At its core, this should be an easy drink that you can toss together at a moment’s notice. All you need is some sugar, lemons, tea and shine.
Let’s be clear, I said you don’t want to fancy it up too much, not that you don’t want to fancy it up at all. You’re still having a drink you should enjoy. The fanciest thing that you’re going to do for this is to make a lemon simple syrup, which is easy, promise. Take one part sugar (say a cup) and one part water (that’d also be a cup) and some lemon peels (from three or four lemons) and bring them to a boil in a pot. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for a few minutes, kill the heat and let cool with the lemon peels in there. Once it’s finally cool, remove the lemon and you now have a golden, lemon-infused simple syrup.
Oh, if you’re feeling particularly Martha Stewart, you can then take those lemon peels and turn them into candied lemon, but that’s another post.
Once you have your fancy ingredient (the lemon simple syrup), brew your favorite tea. Take your pick, personal preference rules the roost there. Brew it, cool it and get it ready to have a cocktail celebrating every day awesome.
Finally, you need some shine. Our friends over at Dark Corner Distillery (from the fine state of South Carolina, where they know shine, biscuits and damn fine food) were kind enough to send us The World’s Best Moonshine, which fit the bill exceptionally. Seriously, look at all the awards this shine has won — don’t just take our word for it, it’s tasty.
Now, with all of your ingredients at hand, it’s time to whip up a fine drink for you, your friends, your family and me! It’s a party, right?
Onto The World’s Best Sweet Tea!
- 3 parts tea (cooled)
- 1 part lemon simple syrup
- 2 parts moonshine
- This is tricky.
- Add everything together with ice.
- Stir.
- Drink.
- If you’re fancy do that in a shaker.
- Or just do it in your preferred drinking vessel.
- Don’t get too fancy now.