Jack Honey Sweetened Blackberry Tea Recipe
Jack Honey Sweetened Blackberry Tea June 12, 2015 by Barb | Creative-Culinary.com 17 Comments
Last week when I had to post a cocktail for the Belmont stakes, I promised today would be a sweetened tea with bourbon concoction honoring my pal Lana from the South (not south Denver, nope…GEORGIA!). I knew I wanted to combine sweet tea with some Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Liqueur. If not familiar with this heavenly elixir, you might think it a whiskey but it is not. It’s actually honey liqueur blended with Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey and let me tell you it is SO good.
My favorite concoction ever using this magical potion isn’t even a cocktail (at least until today!). I made these cupcakes for a big celebration in 2013. Not ‘just’ my daughter’s birthday but an even bigger celebration; the news that she was cancer free. I still get teary when I think of those words and she would probably reprimand me for shedding those tears and remind me it was good news. Yes, yes it was but she will have to be a mom before she gets why that day will forever be so meaningful and give me that moment for those tears of joy. Besides they are so good they could make you cry. Try them too.
I won’t say this cocktail brings about that same depth of feeling but I will say this; it comes pretty close even if I have to wait until I can really enjoy it. See, I got waylaid yesterday with other things when my schedule allowed me ‘cocktail time.’ For one, once I decided that I HAD to make a cocktail with blackberries, nothing else would do. Not peaches even though that would have been so perfect, you know, Georgia and all. Not strawberries or blueberries either…just nothing felt right. So despite a full pantry and fridge, I headed to the grocery store. Where I noticed when I drove up that a headlight was out. I don’t drive a new-fangled car preferring to hang on to my old girl until she is old enough to retire so no warning lights for me. I decided to have someone help me check and son of a gun, I had THREE bad bulbs. One headlight, one taillight and one brake light. Oops! I now can promise you Denver that I am no longer an accident waiting to happen and by the time I returned home; it was raining (again) and just too dark to attempt photos.
So, here I am this morning…writing this post and dying to finish off this libation without feeling like I am jumping the gun. How long do I have to wait. Would noon be OK? Can I justify drinking it before then because it has fruit and honey in it? OK, OK…I’ll wait til afternoon. Like in 12:01pm. I have sipped this piece of Heaven and it is good. I can not WAIT for two friends who have spent a lifetime shunning bourbon to sip it with me. I have addressed their issues, have offered them some bourbon cocktails and now I’ve created monsters. MORE bourbon Barb!! That’s more like it Sandy and Amy and yes, I have extra made just for you! I know you will LOVE Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. I love the scent of bourbon; opening this bottle and wafting the combination of bourbon and honey? Almost too much to bear (feeling a bit like Al Pacino in The Scent of a Woman; I would dance with this bottle). It’s just…just…I don’t know! How can you describe something indescribable? I so love using bourbon in my cooking and until this cocktail have used the Jack Honey for nothing else. There are the aforementioned cupcakes, barbecue sauces, frosting and a salad dressing that come to mind. See; it’s not just good, it’s so versatile. Seriously one of my favorite bottles to have on hand!
I’m just a bit embarrassed I had not thought to make a cocktail before today. And this was the perfect one. I muddled the berries and mint and added them to a tall pitcher of tea before combining all of it with some lemon and a bit of simple syrup (the Jack might be enough for you but with blackberries and lemon I thought it needed a touch more sugar). Served over ice on a hot day? Try it and then tell me it’s not your new favorite. Next up? Lemonade and Jack Honey and homemade Luxardo Cherries…oh my I can’t wait! By the way, every time I write that it’s like I’m addressing my boyfriend, my fictional one. Jack, honey, would you please pass me that tea? Sorry…am I loopy? The price I you pay for my making morning cocktails! Try this, you will love it too…and Cheers!
Barb Serves 6
Jack Honey Sweetened Blackberry Tea
15 minPrep Time
5 minCook Time
20 minTotal Time
Ingredients
For the Tea:
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups ice water
- 3 large tea bags or 6 regular size (I used 3 Lipton Family Size)
- 6 oz fresh blackberries
- 2 sprigs mint
- 1 lemon
- 2-4 Tbsp simple syrup
- For the Cocktail:
- 2 oz of Jack Daniel's Honey Liqueur
- Lemon slices, blackberries and mint for garnish
Instructions
To Make the Tea:
Boil 2 cups of water and turn off heat. Immerse tea bags in water and let them steep in the water for about 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and add the ice water.
Mash the blackberries and mint in a bowl and add to a tea pitcher. Squeeze lemon and add the juice to the fruit, mix thoroughly.
Once the tea has cooled down and you've added the ice water, fill the pitcher with ice, add the fruit mixture and stir thoroughly.
To Make the Cocktail:
Fill an glass with ice. Combine 6 oz of tea with 2 oz of Jack Honey and stir. Garnish with a slice of lemon, a spring of mint and a blackberry. Serve with straws. 6.5
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By the way; Lana is on the mend. Back surgery is not an easy one so bouncing back does not happen overnight. Still, she’s got friends, we’re helping with her blog and I know she would love to hear from you. Hop on over to Never Enough Thyme and say hi; it would appreciated by both of us! I was provided with a sample bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey to use for this cocktail,
however all commentary is my own.