Here it is for your drinking pleasure—the last teatail of the summer. But haven’t we had a great time creating, mixing, and drinking them? I know the Gibson Household sure has.

For this one, I turned to Ohio Tea Co. and their French Lemon Crème. Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore all things lemon. I’m actually a little surprised that it’s taken me this long to create a lemony teatail.

French Lemon Crème is delicious hot, but I wanted to see how well it held up when iced. The base of green rooibos is perfect for the addition of lemon peel, calendula, lemon wedges, and vanilla flavor. It brewed up a lovely deep orange and smelled heavenly.

As for which spirit to pair with the French Lemon Crème, that took a bit of experimentation. I must admit that I didn’t know exactly what I wanted from this teatail, and I certainly didn’t want to copy someone else’s recipe. I trusted that when I hit the right combination, I would know it.

But getting there took some time! Below are the combinations we tried en route to the perfect teatail.

• Absolut Citron w/ sugar syrup – very herbal with a burn

• Il Tramonto Limoncello – smelled and tasted like bubblegum

• Il Tramonto Limoncello w/ sugar syrup – even more bubblegummy

• Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – lost the flavor of tea altogether

• Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy w/ sugar syrup – syrup brought up the lemon flavor and smoothed out the bite of the shandy, but it still overwhelmed the tea

• Oliver Lemon Moscato – too tart

• Oliver Lemon Moscato w/ sugar syrup – mildly lemon but too bland

• Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon w/ sugar syrup – warm and spicy but did nothing for the lemon flavor

• Hendrick’s Gin w/ sugar syrup – creamy lemon flavor, smooth

• St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur w/ sugar syrup – bright floral and lemony

Contrary to what you might think, we weren’t even tipsy at this point. We did, however, start to get close to what we wanted in a teatail. I will admit, though, that we will probably revisit this one next year for more taste testing and tweaking of the recipe. Otherwise, we think you’ll enjoy what we decided upon for the time being.

Summer Sunset Teatail

6 t French Lemon Crème

6 c fresh water

1½ c raw sugar

1 c fresh water

¼ oz. St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur

½ oz. Hendrick’s Gin

Bring the six cups of water to 212° F in a stainless-steel pot on the stove. While the water heats, measure out the French Lemon Creme tea into a large, mesh tea ball. When the water reaches the appropriate temperature, place the tea ball in it and cover the pot with a lid. Remember to turn off the heat below the pot (gas stove) or remove it from the burner (electric stove).

Allow the tea to brew for six hours, during which time it will also come down to room temperature. You may swirl it gently, otherwise do not remove the lid from the pot. The long, undisturbed brewing time ensures the tea is strong enough to stand up to the liquor you will add later without being bitter.

While the tea is brewing, add the raw sugar to one cup of water in a stainless-steel pot and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium-high heat, stirring gently, until a rich syrup has formed. Remove from the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. The syrup can be stored for up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

When the tea has brewed, you may swirl the tea ball once to ensure evenness of color. Remove the tea ball and discard the expended tea. Do not press out the contents into the brewed tea. Pour the tea into a glass pitcher, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator until the tea is completely chilled.

To Prepare

In a cocktail stirring glass, measure ¼ oz. St. Germaine, ½ oz. Hendrick’s, and ½ oz. sugar syrup. Stir for about 15 seconds to combine.

In a drinking glass that holds at least 12 oz., place 4 ice cubes. Pour the spirits and sugar mixture over the cubes. Top off with chilled French Lemon Creme tea and stir gently to combine.

Let me know in the comments if you try Summer Sunset and how you liked it. Also, I don’t have a pretty picture of the finished teatail, but I do have one of the fruits . . . or rather spirits of our labor. Enjoy!