[1] We adore our Tern ice cream maker (Abacus Photo).

[2] Just hold the paddle against the side of the bowl and watch your ice cream harden (photos #2 through #6 © Tern Ice Cream).

[3] Most commercial berry ice creams don’t have enough berry intensity for us. Strawberry typically tastes like “strawberries and cream” instead of deep, luscious berries. So: We make our own!

[4] Peanut butter ice cream. Unlike commercial brands, you can make it crunchy!

[5] We love coconut ice cream. We added chocolate chips to our batch.

[6] When you make your own coffee ice cream, you can make the coffee flavor as intense as you like.

[7] Don’t forget sorbet—especially the flavors you want but can’t find in stores (photo © Sebastian Coman Photography | Unsplash).

[8] We made apple cinnamon ice cream to top apple pie. We’ve also made Cheddar ice cream and blue cheese ice cream (photo © Spencer | Pexels).

[9] When you want blueberry swirl frozen yogurt, rev up your Tern (photo © Elena Leya | Unsplash).

[10] Corn ice cream is a flavor we adore. Although we tend to make it with summer corn, canned or frozen corn work too. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).

The best gift we received this past holiday season—by far—is the Tern Craft Ice Cream Maker. Luscious ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet is ready in just five minutes (with the bowl kept in the freezer and the base mix previously chilled).

It’s our Top Pick Of The Week (and perhaps every week forever!).

Watch it making ice cream here:

There’s more in a minute about this remarkable little machine, but we want to point out some goodies you can find elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The year’s 50+ ice cream holidays

> The different types of frozen desserts: a photo glossary.

> The history of ice cream.

> The history of the ice cream maker.
 
 
TERN: THE BEST SMALL ICE CREAM MAKER WE’VE TRIED

We’ve been making ice cream at home since childhood. Our mother had one of the hand-cranked White Mountain ice cream makers (photo #11), which set a quart-size cylinder of ice cream base into an old-fashioned wood bucket of rock salt. Adding water to the bucket created the slurry that froze the ice cream.

But it required the upper arm strength to turn the crank for 30 to 45 minutes. (And we’re always surprised that despite creating electric versions decades ago, the hand-cranked versions are still sold!)

In the 1970s, electric ice cream makers for home use appeared. No more upper arm workout, and it used regular ice cubes instead of the rock salt slurry (photo #12).

Cuisinart introduced its first electric home ice cream maker in 1978. We got one as a birthday gift, and happily created flavors that could not be purchased in stores (banana chocolate chip [a decade before Chunky Monkey!], Grand Marnier, malted milk ball, vanilla double malt, and peach [a favorite flavor we could enjoy all year round, using frozen peaches]).

But the real advance was the unit that didn’t require ice. In 1984, the Donvier ice cream maker was introduced to the U.S. from Japan. It was the first unit to use frozen gel in a double-walled canister to chill the ice cream, instead of ice and water.

You’d freeze the metal cylinder overnight in your freezer, then pour in the ice cream mixture and manually turn the handle intermittently for 15–30 minutes. Yes, it was manual—but not painfully so.

Then came a parade of small ice cream makers with pre-frozen cylinders that had electricity! We tried a few of them but never found the perfect one. Our complaint generally was that they didn’t freeze the ice cream firmly enough to enjoy it right out of the churn. We had to place the ice cream in the freezer to harden.

So when we opened the box and pulled out the Tern, it was with both anticipation but also and concern. But Tern is a champion: firm ice cream in an amazingly swift five minutes. And at just 8″ x 10″ x 12″, it’s a space saver as well.

That’s it in a nutshell. For “beyond the nutshell,” keep scrolling.

And for the story of the weirdest ice cream maker we’ve ever tried, see the †footnote below.
 
 
IS THE TERN FOR YOU?

If you like to cook, then YES! If you’d like artisan alternatives beyond what you can buy at the grocer’s, then YES! If you want your ice cream ready in 5 minutes (with planning ahead to chill the mix and the bowl), then YES! If you don’t need to produce large quantities, then YES!

The Tern Craft Ice Cream Maker succeeds brilliantly at what it sets out to do: produce small batches of genuinely premium ice cream quickly, using an artisan-style process.

It makes a pint at a time, so it’s not for a crowd—but it’s perfect if you want ice cream for two.

At just under one hundred twenty dollars, it’s an investment, but one that pays dividends of delight.

While the company doesn’t make any “savings” claims, we’ve found that the cost of ingredients is far less than the $7-$10 that better pints of ice cream cost in our area.
 
 
GET YOUR TERN

> Head to TernIceCream.com.
 
 
MORE TO KNOW

It’s So Fast!

In a world of automatic ice cream machines that churn away for 25 to 40 minutes, the Tern Craft Ice Cream Maker promises something different: ready-to-eat, artisan-quality ice cream in five minutes. And it delivers!
 
 
The Simple Process

The five-minute churning time is accurate for the actual ice cream making, but this doesn’t include preparation time for your base mixture or the overnight freezing requirement for the bowl. If you decide at eight in the evening that you want ice cream, the Tern won’t help you unless you’ve kept the bowl in the freezer.

The company recommends leaving it there permanently, which is reasonable if you have a small amount of freezer space to spare.

For simple, no-cook vanilla ice cream recipes, it takes less than 60 seconds to whisk together the cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla. If you’re making a custard base with egg yolks, it needs to be whisked for 5 minutes in a saucepan.

Whatever the recipe, it needs two hours of chilling. However, this is true with any automatic ice cream maker.

 
The task is pretty effortless, and it’s enjoyable to watch the frozen treat come together. Numerous electric ice cream makers have you push a button and walk away, but the five minutes of interactive “work” with the paddle is fun.

The only drawback is that it makes a pint at a time, not a quart (the same is true with other smaller machines). For two people, that’s enough; for a larger family, not.

However, you can purchase an extra bowl and be ready to make the next pint as soon as the first bowl is done spinning.

And if you work quickly, you can sometimes get a second batch out of the same bowl before it needs to return to the freezer.

Either way, you have means to make a quart.
 
 
The Result: Simply Wonderful Ice Cream!

The quality of its finished product is truly wonderful. Using only the recipes provided by the manufacturer, we enjoyed bowl after bowl of ice cream, custard (i.e., Philadelphia stye, with egg yolks), gelato, and sorbet.

The ice cream comes out firm and scoopable immediately, ready for a bowl or cone—unlike other home machines where the mixture resembles soft-serve and requires additional freezing time.

Non-dairy milks work equally well. In fact, if you’ve been less than thrilled with how your current machine makes plant-based ice cream, we can assure you the recipes we made with coconut cream and oat milk were just as impressive as cow-based.

Because the rapid freezing technology creates a superior texture regardless of fat content, you can reduce the amount of cream and egg yolks in recipes.

You can also use the sweetener of choice, including non-caloric options.
 


[11] Our mother hand-cranked our family’s ice cream! (Abacus Photo)
 
 
How Tern Came To Be

Tern was created by mechanical engineer Josh Stuckey after years of disappointment with home ice cream makers. They took too long to freeze batches, resulting in larger ice crystals and less smooth, less creamy ice cream.

After studying ice cream production books written for the industry, Stuckey realized that the difference was speed. Commercial artisan machines freeze ice cream rapidly, creating smaller ice crystals.

After almost two decades of testing, dozens of design integrations, and many hundreds of hours of making ice cream, he found the solution.

 
For how the Tern got its name, see the *footnote below.

Out of curiosity, we looked up the the shortest migration journey—representing the shortest amount of time to make a batch of ice cream. That title belongs to North America’s blue grouse, which migrates just 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) vertically down the mountain to breed. And it doesn’t fly, it walks!
 
†Here’s a fun ice cream story that’s absolutely true. Somewhere around 2010, a company sent The Nibble an ice cream maker, hoping for a review. It was a large plastic ball, perhaps eight inches in diameter, that screwed apart. You poured your ice cream mixture into the ball and then kicked it around, like a soccer ball. I recall the pitch was something like “The kids get to make their own ice cream while having fun playing ball.”

It sounded too good to be true, but how could we resist a sample to try? You won’t be surprised to hear that it did not work. We ended up with the same cream mixture we had put in—and ended up drinking it like a milkshake.

What we subsequently found out from an engineer friend is that it never could have worked. Basic thermodynamics says you need sustained cold temperatures to freeze ice cream, not the brief contact with a cold surface while being kicked around a yard. The mixture just sloshed, around getting warmer from all that motion and friction!

There’s a sucker born every minute, and at least all it cost The Nibble was a few dollars’ worth of heavy cream.
 
 

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For most of us, Valentine’s Day means chocolate.

In 1861, British chocolate manufacturer Richard Cadbury created the first heart-shaped box of chocolate for Valentine’s Day; and commercialization took over.

We wish we could send you some of our favorite chocolates for Valentine’s Day, but we’ve done the next best thing: created a list of them, below, so the next time you need to give someone the “best,” you have a starting point.

The list follows. Elsewhere on The Nibble, check out:

> The history of Valentine’s Day.
 
> The history of chocolate.

> The different types of chocolate: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 69 chocolate holidays.

> Pairing wine with chocolate.
 
 
OUR FAVORITE ARTISAN CHOCOLATES

We’ve been writing about fine chocolate for 25 years! Here are some of the favorites we continue to enjoy.

With the exception of one specialist, The Cordial Cherry, each of these chocolatiers make beautiful boxes of assorted bonbons and other products. You’ll be delighted with everything they make. All make beautiful assortments like this one:

[7] Chocolat Modern: Assorted Chocolates.

We’re calling out favorites from each brand that are particular to that brand. In addition to the other dazzling chocolates on the websites, seek them out.

Click on the brand’s name to go to its website.

CHARLES CHOCOLATES
Must Try: Edible Boxes (chocolate boxes filled with chocolates, photo #1), Triple Chocolate Almonds.

THE CORDIAL CHERRY
Must Try: The company hand-sculpts bonbons filled with either cordial cherries or chocolate ganache (“truffles”), with lovely designs for every occasion (photo #2).

CHOCOLAT MODERNE
Must Try: Avant Garde filled chocolate bars (our favorite chocolate bars, photo #3), Kimono Collection (bonbons with Japanese flavors), Greek Revival (bonbons with Greek flavors).

JOHN & KIRA’S
Must Try: Chocolate Cherries (photo #4), Chocolate Figs, Bee My Lovebug (Caramel Bees & Dark Chocolate Ladybugs, photo #8), Chocolate Pumpkins (fall only).

[8] John & Kira’s: Caramel Honey Bees and Dark Chocolate Ladybugs .

L. A. BURDICK CHOCOLATE
Must Try: Chocolate Mice (photo #5) and Penguins, Scotch-Infused Chocolates (Holidays plus Father’s Day).

OMNOM CHOCOLATE
Must Try: Flavored chocolate bars in fanciful wrappers.

RECCHIUTI CONFECTIONS
Must Try: Batons (Banana Caramel, Butterscotch Caramel, Candied Orange Peel Batons), Fleur de Sel Caramels, Peanut Butter Pucks (photo #9).

WOODHOUSE CHOCOLATE
Must Try: Elephant Peanut Butter Cups, Gooey Caramel Clusters, S’mores (photo #6).

[2] The Cordial Cherry: Designs for every season and occasion.

[3] Chocolat Modern: Gourmet chocolate bars with stupendous fillings.

[4] John & Kira’s: Chocolate Cherries.

[5] L.A. Burdick: Chocolate Mice.

[6] Woodhouse Chocolate: S’mores.

[1] A classic Pink Lady. We substituted raspberries for the traditional maraschino cherry garnish (Abacus Photo).

[2] A Pink Lady made with cream instead of egg white, is also called a Pink Shimmy. This glass is rimmed with heart confetti (photo © Hotel Chocolat).

[3] A lemon twist often replaces the cherry in modern renditions. Here, it’s carved into a butterfly (photo by Ralf Roletschek | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Ralf Roletschek | Wikimedia Commons).

[4] A 1911 poster advertisement by Hamilton King for the musical that begat the cocktail, The Pink Lady.

[5] Rose’s, big brand in grenadine, is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Pay a bit more for a craft brand made with real sugar, or make your own (photo © Sonoma Syrup).

[6] Applejack is paired with gin in the Pink Lady. Here’s more about applejack (photo © Coppercraft Distillery).

[7] A facsimile of the first cocktail recipe book to feature the Pink Lady. You can purchase it the original 1913 bookon Amazon (photo © Kalevala Books).

In the realm of cocktails, it doesn’t get pinker than the Pink Lady. This classic, gin-based cocktail’s bright pink color, frothy foam head, and sweet-tart flavor profile was enjoyed by men and women alike until after Prohibition, when cocktail critics (men) decided it was to “girly” for guys.

Sweet cocktails were especially popular during Prohibition because they better masked the taste of the poor-quality, “bathtub” gin. The egg white, added during this time, further smoothed out the drink.

The cocktail gets its pinkness and sweetness from grenadine (pomegranate syrup), but note that big brands are Rose’s are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. It’s an artificial taste.

You can buy a smaller craft brand, or easily make your own by reducing pomegranate juice. Here’s the recipe.

Below:

> The Pink Lady recipe.

> The history of the Pink Lady cocktail.

 
Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> Make your own grenadine.

> The year’s 50+ cocktail holidays.

> The year’s 14 gin holidays.

> The history of gin.

> The history of Ginuary.

> The different types (expressions) of gin.

> The year’s 14 gin holidays.

> What is applejack, and how does it differ from apple brandy?

> The history of Valentine’s Day.
 
 
RECIPE: PINK LADY COCKTAIL

As with all recipes, there are variations, but use gin, grenadine, and egg white, shaken and strained into a coupe glass. This typical 20th-century version was standardized with applejack.

It balances London Dry gin with crisp apple brandy with bright, and the tartness of freshly squeezed lemon juice balanced by sweet grenadine. The egg white softens the drink’s flavors and texture.

The classic garnish is a maraschino cherry, but unless you really like them or can find/make a good brandied cherry, consider a cocktail pick of raspberries or simply sprinkle pomegranate arils over the foam.

If you’re concerned about consuming raw egg whites, look for pasteurized eggs.
 
Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients except the garnish in a shaker and vigorously dry-shake, i.e. without ice. This ensures that the egg white fully combines with the other ingredients.

2. ADD ice and shake again until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

3. GARNISH and serve.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE PINK LADY

Before the Pink Lady arrived on the scene (arguably in 1911), there were two antecedents.

The Gin Sour. The “sour” family of drinks became popular in the 1850s, a combination of a spirit, citrus, juice, and sugar or simple syrup (the history of simple syrup).

The first known written recipe for a Gin Sour was published in Gerry Thomas’s 1862 book, How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion.

The Clover Club. It was invented in the late 1800s, a bartender at the Clover Club, a Philadelphia social club, swapped the plain simple syrup of the Gin Sour for raspberry syrup, and added an egg white to create a foamy top.

The syrup gave the drink a pink-orange hue and added fruity flavor to the sweetness. The cocktail appears in an 1887 club handbook.

The Pink Lady. The Pink Lady is a pomegranate version of the Clover Club, swapping the raspberry syrup for pomegranate syrup, a.k.a. grenadine.

The drink appeared at the time of a 1911 Broadway musical The Pink Lady, It is believed that it was named specifically for its star, Hazel Dawn, who was the Pink Lady of the title.

While we don’t know who created it, versions of the recipe first appear in print in 1913,in Straub’s Manual of Mixed Drinks by Jacques Straub (1913). A bit later, it can be found in Recipes for Mixed Drinks by Hugo R. Ensslin (1916).

These publications indicate that the Pink Lady was taking hold.

The recipes included London Dry gin and applejack in equal parts, along with lime juice and dashes of grenadine. But no egg white.

The egg white took hold within a few years, believed to have been added around 1920 during Prohibition (1920–1933), to mask the bad taste of bathtub gin.

A creamier version of the Pink Lady that has been around at least since the 1920s replaced the egg white with sweet cream. This version is called the Pink Shimmy, said to be created at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans by Armond Schroeder, an assistant manager. (Perhaps he also made the club’s bathtub gin?)

There are also versions that include egg white along with cream.

As with any recipe, there were variations. The one featured in Harry Craddock’s 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book, featuring 750 recipes from the American Bar at London’s Savoy Hotel, omitted the applejack (it was difficult to source in the U.K. at the time) but used citrus juice, grenadine, and the egg white.

Occasionally the Pink Lady’s invention is attributed to the interior designer and society figure Elsie de Wolfe (1865–1950). However, de Wolfe’s recipe is is said to have contained gin, pink grapefruit juice instead of lemon juice, and Cointreau orange liqueur.
 
 
Post Prohibition

After the end of Prohibition (1933), there was no longer need for recipes that could covered up the taste of bad spirits. By 1939, the Pink Lady had fallen out of favor with critics (who were almost exclusively men). It appeared in Esquire magazine’s list of the “10 Best and Worst Cocktails of 1934” (see the list here).

Even if it tasted good and was made of manly ingredients (gin, applejack), what man wanted to be seen holding a frothy pink drink? The Pink Lady had acquired the reputation of “female” or “girly.”
 
 
The Pink Lady Today

Beginning with the craft cocktail movement in in the early 2000s, bartenders “rediscovered” the Pink Lady and other retro cocktails†.

If it hasn’t become a retro A-lister like the Manhattan, Negroni, Old-Fashioned, and Sidecar, it has at least made it onto the B-list. Some revived cocktails on the C-list, which were never even popular in their original era, also have ridden the revival wave.

Of course, modern mixologists continue to orchestrate changes when they dust off these cocktails. With the Pink Lady, we’ve seen newer recipes that have a lot more gin, add honey syrup in addition to the grenadine, and we even found a Salted Pink Lady. (How about a Chocolate Pink Lady?)

So try the original 20th-century recipe above, and if you have an idea of how to tweak it, go for it! But remember: Chocolate was our idea.

†Other retro cocktails that have been “revived”, displacing popular ‘80s and ‘90s drinks like the Mudslide and Long Island Iced Tea, include The Aviation (gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette), The Boulevardier (Bourbon or rye, Campari, sweet vermouth, orange twist or peel), The Bee’s Knees (gin, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup), Corpse Reviver No. 2 (gin, Lillet Blanc, orange liqueur, fresh lemon juice), The Last Word (gin, Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, lime juice), New York Sour (Bourbon or rye, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, optional egg white, red wine, lemon peel or maraschino cherry garnish), Pegu Club (gin, Orange Curaçao, fresh lime juice, Angostura bitters, orange bitters). and Remember the Main (absinthe, rye, sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur, brandied cherry garnish). The Boulevardier, New York Sour, and Remember the Maine are drinks that were never popular when they first appeared, but were rediscovered, dusted off, and championed by revival mixologists for customers seeking something “new.”

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But bite in, and you discover the culinary trompe l’oeil: These aren’t chocolate-dipped strawberries at all. They’re strawberry ice cream, sculpted into perfect strawberry shapes and enrobed in top-quality semisweet chocolate.

The craftsmanship is exceptional throughout, from the convincing strawberry shape to those tiny that are as delicious as they are charming.

The texture contrast between the creamy strawberry ice cream and the crisp chocolate shell is exactly what you want, and the white chocolate drizzle and green stems add just enough visual charm to make these bites feel like an event.

We love them.

And we even liked the outer box so much (photo #1), we saved it.

Before we continue, elsewhere on The Nibble you’ll find:

> Dozens of beverages to pair with ice cream: alcoholic, non-alcoholic, hot, and cold.

> The different types of ice cream and frozen desserts: a photo glossary.

> The history of ice cream.

> The year’s 50+ ice cream holidays.
 
 
BACK TO THE “BERRIES”

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: At $119 for 10 pieces (shipping included), these are not your everyday ice cream treat.

But here’s the silver lining to that price tag: Unlike a $10 pint of artisan ice cream that an ice cream connoisseur can demolish in two sittings (guilty!), these luxurious bites are so special—and online only—that you won’t be ordering them weekly.

Which makes them even more special when they arrive.

So yes, they worth are absolutely worth it if money is not the issue. A note to all admirers: Please send a box a month instead of fresh flowers.

For the first time this year, award-winning artisanal ice cream brand Andia’s Ice Cream’s of North Carolina has made their Chocolate-Covered “Strawberries” available nationwide, via Goldbelly.

> Order them here.

These most special ice cream bonbonsdraw lines around the block at Andia’s North Carolina locations.

For Valentine’s, birthday, anniversary, any special occasion, or heck—no special occasion but to treat yourself!
 

[4] For about $15, you can find a delicious Moscato, either regular or rosé, to pair with the “berries” (photo © Santero F.lli & C. I.V.S. SpA).
 
 
ICE CREAM & BEVERAGE PAIRINGS

The best champagne or other wine to pair with ice cream or sorbet is one with a higher sugar content. The slight sweetness complements a dessert.

[1] One lovely pink box, 10 exquisite ice cream “strawberries” (photos #1, #2 ©, and #4, and #6 Andia’s Ice Cream).

[2] A tip: They arrive very frozen, so you’ll need to leave them on the counter for five or so minutes before digging in.

[3] Would you like Champagne with your ice cream? See the best pairings below (Abacus Photo).

[4] Close-up on the “berries” (you get 10 of them).

 
> Beyond bubbly, check out these beverage pairings for ice cream, cake, and other desserts.

> Wine pairings for chocolate.
 
 
ABOUT ANDIA’S ICE CREAM

With three locations in North Carolina and more in the works, Andia’s Ice Cream is one of the Southeast’s most beloved ice cream shops.

Andia Xouris has received the title of Grand Master Ice Cream Maker, a prestigious, coveted honor awarded by the North American Ice Cream Association (NAICA) to professionals who demonstrate exceptional skill, consistency, and quality in frozen dessert production sustained over a number of years. Only a small number of ice cream makers nationwide have achieved.

Founded in 2013 by Andia and George Xouris, the mom-and-pop artisan ice cream shop has lines down the street for its handmade, super-premium ice cream in a variety of wildly creative flavors, torched sugar-topped Ice Cream Brûlée (photo below), and, perhaps most famously, the extravagant Monster Shakes.

If you’re in the area this month, flavors include Baklava, Black Raspberry, Brownie Batter, Butter Toffee Popcorn, Cake Batter, Chocolate But Vegan (V), Coffee Bean Crunch, Cotton Candy, Double Dark Chocolate, French Vanilla, Mango Jalapeño Margarita, Mint Chip, Oreo Cookies & Cream, Peanut Butter Fudge, Oreo Latte, Rose Pistachio, Strawberry, and Ube (V).

Plus for February: Chocolate Strawberries (V), Cinnamon French Toast, Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Rose Sorbet (V), Strawberry Shortcake, and Wedding Cake.

We are quite tempted to buy a ticket to Raleigh!
 

[6] Andia’s Ice Cream Brûlée is also available from Goldbelly.
 
 

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[1] A gin toddy made with Empress 1908 Indigo Gin. The color comes from butterfly pea flowers infused into the gin. We further infused the gin with Earl Grey tea (photos #1, #2, and #9 © Empress 1908 Gin).

[2] You can make the toddy—or any gin cocktail—with any type of gin. An infused gin, like Empress 1908 Lemon Cucumber Gin, makes it even more special with an extra layer of flavor.

[3] A glass of peach gin tea is easy to make with gin and peach iced tea. Add a touch of mint syrup. Here’s the recipe (photo © Kitchen Stories).

[4] A Negroni made with Drumshambo Gunpowder Gin (gunpowder is a green tea). The recipe is in the †footnote (photo © The Shed Distillery of P. J. Rigney).

[5] Tanqueray’s Gin Tea & Tonic. The recipe is in the ‡footnote (photo © Tanqueray).

[6] State Line Distillery’s Smoked Tea Gin infused with Lapsang Souchong and Golden Yunnan (photo © State Line Distillery). Check out the different tea-infused gins you can buy, below.

[7] Chicken salad finger sandwiches and macarons for your Gin Tea. Here’s the chicken salad recipe (photo © 31 Daily).

[8] Paper cup designs invoke Victorian-era porcelain tea cups. You can find them on Amazon (photo © Karenhi).

[9] Empress 1908 Indigo Gin infuses the butterfly pea flower, which adds stunning color without changing the flavor of the gin.

Before we close out Ginuary as well as National Hot Tea Month, we present the relatively new custom of “gin tea,” a U.K. trend of combining tea and gin in cocktails.

The story unfurls below, along with:

> A food and drinks menu for a Gin Tea cocktail party.

> How to infuse gin into tea yourself.

> Brands of infused gin.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of gin.

> The different types (expressions) of gin.

> The year’s 14 gin holidays.

> The year’s 23 tea holidays.

> The different types of tea: a photo glossary.

> The history of tea.
 
 
WHAT IS GIN TEA?

Gin tea is a modern take on afternoon tea, the wonderful British tradition introduced by Anna Maria Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, as a way to stave off hunger between lunch and dinner.

The elaborate snack, as it were, is a pot of tea with small bites: tea sandwiches, scones, and pastries. Here’s the history of afternoon tea and the tea party.

Gin Tea, or “G&Tea,” has emerged as a cocktail trend that’s essentially afternoon tea reimagined for cocktail hour.

The tea is replaced with gin-based drinks that combine brewed tea with gin in various ways—from chilled drinks to warm toddy-like cocktails combining gin with tea sweetened with honey.

In London, you’ll find Gin Tea offered at hotels, restaurants, and on special excursions on vintage London buses.

While the concept may seem new to many of us, Tanqueray introduced its Tea & Tonic recipe (photo #5) in 2011!
 
 
Why Not Host A Gin Tea Cocktail Party?

If you’d like to host or a gin tea, the setup would be similar to afternoon tea: an elegant presentation of cocktails, accompanied by traditional tea sandwiches, scones, and pastries.

But the beverages would be gin-and-tea cocktails rather than plain tea—except, of course, a conventional pot of tea for those abstaining from alcohol.

Use your best glassware—or for a playful twist, serve the gin tea drinks in teacups. If you’ve inherited a set of delicate porcelain tea cups, so much the better.

See photo #8 for an almost-as-much-fun paper cup alternative.

Tell friends who want to bring things that they can make tea sandwiches or bring the scones and sweets.

Cue up the classical music—string quartets especially—for an afternoon tea atmosphere and aesthetic, but with cocktails as the star.
 
 
THERE’S A NEW TEA-INFUSED GIN IN TOWN

State Line Distillery, a craft distillery in Madison, Wisconsin, debuts Lapsang Smoked Gin (photo #6), a bold, full-bodied new release that pushes gin into new territory—and makes “gin tea” recipes simple.

The distiller’s American Gin is infused with a blend of Lapsang Souchong and Golden Yunnan teas.

Where London Dry gin has sometimes been seen as outdated by younger generations, today’s craft distillers are demonstrating the spirit’s adaptability across flavor profiles, from floral and citrus-forward to smoky and complex. American Dry gin is a category that represents these changes.

The smokiness of the Lapsang Souchong is balanced by the tannins in the Golden Yunnan tannins and the savory sage notes in State Line Distillery’s American gin.

We’d also like to recommend Empress Cucumber Lemon Gin (photo #2). It’s not tea-infused, but you can do that yourself (instructions below to make an exciting gin tea cocktail.

For a vivid purple or blue shade, Empress 1908 Indigo Gin is stunning. The natural color from the butterfly pea flower adds just color, no extra flavor (photos #1 and #9). You add the extra flavor by infusing the tea of your choice.
 
 
A GIN TEA MENU

Some baristas infuse their own gin, but you can purchase tea-infused gin directly. See some brands below.

Warm Drinks

 
Chilled Drinks

 
Traditional Tea Sandwiches

 
Sweets

 
 
HOW TO INFUSE TEA INTO GIN

Earl Grey is the most popular choice for infusing, since citrus-forward teas complement gin’s botanicals beautifully. But any tea works (recall the Lapsang Souchong-infused gin mentioned above)!

Store infused gin in the refrigerator and use it within a few weeks for the best flavor.

There are a few methods for infusing tea into gin, ranging from quick to more refined:

 
 
BRANDS OF INFUSED GIN

Tea-Infused Gin

 
Fruit Infused Gin

We’ve provided this list to show how you can infuse your own tea into fruit-infused gins for a really complex layering of flavors.

We had on hand both Tanqueray Sevilla Orange Gin and Lapsang Souchong tea. We did a cold brew infusion and enjoyed it two ways:

 
More flavors to play with:

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*Compound butter is simply flavored butter. Just soften the butter and mix in finely chopped fresh herbs (and lemon zest if desired), along with a small pinch of salt. The butter should be spread thinly on thin slices of white or whole wheat bread, then layered with thinly sliced cucumber that’s been lightly salted and patted dry. Here’s more about compound butter.

†Drumshambo Gunpowder Tea Negroni recipe per drink: 30ml/1 oz Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, 30ml/1 oz Campari, 30ml/1 oz sweet vermouth, orange slice or twist for garnish. Preparation: Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth.​ Stir well to chill and dilute.​ Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.​ Garnish and serve.

‡The Tanqueray Tea Tonic recipe for a pitcher: 1 liter Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, 1/4 cup Earl Grey tea leaves (or 4-5 tea bags), premium tonic water (e.g., Fever-Tree), lemon slice or twist for garnish. Preparation: Infuse the gin. Pour the gin into a glass container/bottle and add the Earl Grey tea leaves or bags. Let it steep at room temperature for 2 hours (or until you reach desired strength). Strain the gin to remove all tea leaves. Make the cocktails: Per glass, fill with ice. Add 1.5-2 ounces of infused gin. Top with 4-5 ounces of tonic water. Garnish and serve.

You can use London Dry Gin instead. The difference: Tanqueray No. Ten is an ultra-premium, citrus-forward gin. It’s distilled with fresh, whole citrus fruits (lime, orange, grapefruit) and chamomile flowers, rather than the dried peels used in London Dry. The flavor profile is brighter, more floral, and more complex than the juniper-dominant classic London Dry. And the name? It’s produced in a small-batch still named “Tiny Ten.”
 

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