Iced Tea Vodka DIY

Sweet tea vodka makes a great gift for cocktail-lovers! Or make a batch for yourself.

Captain Earl with Iced Tea Vodka

Let’s get crafty in the kitch! This iced tea vodka is all natural, and you can control how sweet or unsweet it is.

I keep seeing sweet tea vodka at the store and sort of feeling like a bad southerner for passing it by. Especially since I’m a southerner who makes cocktails as part of my job. I have a couple of concerns about store-bought iced tea vodkas:

1. They seem like they will be way too sweet. I like the sweetness in my cocktails to come from a splash of soda or juice or a handful of fresh fruit. Syrupy sweet drinks are not my thing.

2. They are full of artificial everything. The sugar in bottled iced tea vodka most likely comes from GMO sugar beets, and I’m betting that even if they use real tea in the flavor mix, they’re enhancing things with artificial additives. No, thank you!

When you make your own iced tea vodka, you can choose sustainable ingredients. I know that booze isn’t healthy, but that doesn’t mean it has to be loaded with GMOs and pesticide residues, right? Plus, if you make your own iced tea vodka from scratch you can experiment with unusual teas, and how fun is THAT?

The recipe below is for Earl Gray vodka, and I’m including a recipe to use the finished product. Don’t care for Earl Gray? You can use this same technique with your favorite tea! What about green tea vodka? Or oolong? Hibiscus tea vodka, anyone? Treat the recipe below as a jumping-off point, my crafty friends!

Earl Gray Iced Tea Vodka

You’re basically making an infused vodka using tea in place of fruit or fresh herbs. It’s super simple and the results are delish!

Ingredients and Supplies

  • 1 cup good-quality organic vodka
  • 2 bags of organic Earl Gray Tea (or whatever tea you like!)
  • 2 tablespoons organic sugar
  • pint-sized mason jar
  • strainer
  • another pint-sized mason jar

Directions

1. Combine your vodka, tea, and sugar in your mason jar, and shake it up to dissolve the sugar.

2. Steep your vodka for 4-6 hours, depending on how strong you want the finished product.

3. Strain into your second jar, and you’re ready to make tea cocktails!

Iced Tea Cocktail: The Captain Earl

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Earl Gray Vodka
  • juice of 1/4 of a naval orange
  • tonic water

Directions

1. Fill a rocks glass with ice, then add the vodka and orange juice. Stir to combine, then top off with the tonic water. Stir again before serving, garnished with a piece of orange.

4 thoughts on “Iced Tea Vodka DIY”

  1. Pingback: Vibrant Wellness Journal | Holistic health, clean living, healthy recipes!

  2. Pingback: Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!

  3. Pingback: Green Tea Vodka | Herbal - Green Tea

  4. Pingback: Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!

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