Smoke & Mirrors Recipe
A cocktail featuring dry gin, pineapple, smoked tea, lime and bitters.
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Ingredients
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Cocktail
Smoked Tea Syrup (makes ~6 oz)
Garnish & Finish
Method
Smoked Tea Syrup
Make syrup
Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and liquid just comes to a simmer.
Steep tea
Remove saucepan from heat, add 2 tablespoons smoked black tea leaves, cover and steep for 5–7 minutes for pronounced smoke character. Taste after 5 minutes and steep up to 8 minutes if you want stronger smoke.
Strain & cool
Strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof container to remove tea leaves. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold. Yield: about 6 ounces. (Syrup keeps refrigerated 2 weeks.)
Cocktail Assembly
Chill glass (optional)
If desired, place a coupe or rocks glass in the freezer or fill with ice and water to chill while you prepare the cocktail.
Combine ingredients
In a cocktail shaker, add 2 oz dry gin, 1 oz fresh pineapple juice, 0.75 oz smoked tea syrup, 0.5 oz fresh lime juice and 3 dashes Angostura bitters.
Add ice & shake
Add a generous amount of ice (about 1 cup) to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is very cold and well-diluted.
Double strain
Discard ice from the chilled glass if you used it to chill. Double strain the cocktail into the chilled coupe or a rocks glass over a large ice cube (or serve neat in a coupe) using a Hawthorne and fine mesh strainer to remove small ice shards and any pulp.
Garnish & smoke finish
Express a lime wheel over the drink and drop it in or place a pineapple wedge on the rim. For an aromatic smoked finish: briefly torch a rosemary sprig and cover the glass with a cloche or inverted mixing glass to trap smoke for 10–15 seconds, then lift and serve. Alternatively add one small drop of food-grade liquid smoke to the drink (use sparingly).
Serve
Serve immediately. Sip and note the interplay of bright pineapple and lime with the savory smoked-tea syrup and bitters.