While I generally avoid chain restaurants, any time I’m in Hawaii I absolutely have to go to a Roy Yamaguchi restaurant. He is a genius and did wonders in introducing Hawaiian regional cuisine to the world. While his pineapple martini is quite possibly the most iconic cocktail served at his restaurants, I had a delightful twist on an old fashioned at his restaurant, Eating House 1849. A good old fashioned cannot be beat… or so I thought, but the addition of a simple syrup steeped with black tea added a new level of subtle depth. Here is my recreation.
Ingredients
Makes 1
- 2 oz rye
- 3 dashes orange bitters
- 2 tsps black tea syrup (recipe below)
- Orange twist
- Ice
In a chilled rocks glass, stir together rye, bitters, and black tea syrup. Add ice. Using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of rind from an orange. Try to only get the top part, as the white layer (the pith) can be bitter. Take the twist of orange, rub around the rim of the glass (the natural oil from the orange adds flavor and aroma) and drop into the glass.
Black Tea Syrup
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 4 black tea bags (I like Earl Grey)
In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil (try not to stir once the sugar has dissolved or the final product may become crystalized). Add tea bags, remove from heat, and steep for 20 minutes. Discard tea bags and refrigerate.
The syrup can be made well in advance and refrigerated.
Notes
- Can I use bourbon? Yes, if you must. I’m not opposed to using bourbon in a classic old fashioned, but with this black tea syrup, rye creates a superior drink.
- For the ice, I really prefer one large cube. The bigger the ice, the slower it melts which results in less dilution.
- I really enjoy batching cocktails, which is premixing numerous servings at once. Definitely feel free to measure out enough for numerous servings (just scale up the recipe as-is, add a splash of distilled water, and store in the refrigerator), but keep in mind that the flavor of the tea mellows if you let the mixture sit too long.
