The Rainmaker Cocktail with Earl Grey Tea and Gin

There is something about fall that just makes me want to drink tea. Black tea, with lots of milk in it – preferably earl grey. I want to curl up on my couch, read a good book, and wrap my hands around a cuppa. Except Vancouver is doing this weird thing right now, and the skies are blue and it’s not very cold. For anyone who has ever been the the Pacific NorthWest in October, you know how totally bizarre this is. I am very confused about where the rain is.

And as such, I keep finding half-drank teacups all over my apartment. I make it, thinking it’s tea time, and then I open my window and take off my sweater and I forget all about the earl grey I made.

So I decided to put my beloved earl grey into a cocktail. And because I suspect its name sake, Prime Minister Charles Grey the Second, was a gin drinker (because I assume that of all British men… and women, come to think of it, are gin drinkers), I thought I should mix the tea with the classic English liquor. I added in some lemon to balance out the sugar, and also to bring in the citrus note of the tea – earl grey is just Ceylon black tea with the oil of bergamot, an Indian citrus fruit, mixed in.

The resulting drink is very soft, the tea mellowing out the gin, the lemon softening the sugar, and it all melding into one very smooth cocktail. It’s just about perfect while you’re waiting for the rains to come.

Rainmaker Cocktail

For Syrup

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp Earl Grey tea

Per Cocktail

  • 2 oz gin
  • 1 oz tea syrup
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • soda water (Optional)
  • lemon peel for garnish

To Make Syrup:

In a small pot bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat, add in tea and stir.

Let sit for 2 minutes, then strain.

Cool.

To Make Cocktail:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and mix all ingredients together. Shake until chilled.

Pour over fresh ice. Garnish with additional tealeaves or a lemon peel and serve!