Mad Hatter's Tea Party Cocktail

Written by
Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham is a cocktail expert, professional bartender, and cookbook author with over 10 years of experience in the food-writing world.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Colleen Graham
Updated 10/14/19
Ice Tea cocktail recipe
Getty Images/LauriPatterson
Prep: 4 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Infusion: 60 mins
Total: 64 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
133 Calories
2g Fat
30g Carbs
3g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 133
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 26mg 9%
Sodium 19mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Protein 3g
Calcium 37mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Typically infused spirits are made with fruits or herbs, but a tea? It's interesting and the key ingredient in the Mad Hatter's tea party cocktail. The infusion is a nice change of pace, especially when you want to spruce up a nice rum and enjoy a quick spiked iced tea-flavored drink.

This recipe is courtesy of Flor de Caña Rum. It's a brand of premium rums from Nicaragua with a distillery located at the base of the San Cristobal Volcano. The rum is aged in former bourbon barrels and sealed with plaintain leaves, two elements that definitely impart a unique character into the rums.

The tea infusion features a special tropical fruit tea, Salon Summer Royale from T Salon. The blend includes papaya, mango, and pineapple, which offers an intriguing base to the cocktail's flavor. The infusion only takes an hour, so it's a good last-minute option and once that's done the cocktail is very easy to mix up. You'll enjoy how the tea-flavored rum is gently enhanced with lime juice and simple syrup, with a hint of ginger to wake up your taste buds.

Ingredients

  • For the Tea-Infused Rum:
  • 1 (750 milliliter) bottle rum (Flor de Caña 4 Year Old)
  • 3 tablespoons tea (T Salon Summer Royale)
  • For the Cocktail:
  • 2 ounces tea-infused rum
  • 3/4 ounce lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup
  • 1/4 ounce ginger syrup
  • Garnish: lime wheel

Steps to Make It

Note: while there are multiple steps to this recipe, this cocktail is broken down into workable categories to help you better plan for preparation and assembly.

Make Tea-Infused Rum

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In an infusion jar, pour the rum, then add the tea.

  3. Shake well and let stand for one hour.

  4. Strain out the tea in a fine mesh strainer and bottle the rum. It can be stored like any other liquor.

Make the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

  1. In a cocktail shaker, combine the tea-infused rum, lime juice, and syrups.

  2. Shake well.

  3. Strain into an old-fashioned glass with fresh ice and garnish with a lime wheel.

  4. Serve and enjoy!

Tips

  • Flor de Caña now makes two 4-year-old rums. Both have a surprisingly dry finish and are worth trying in this cocktail. The Extra Seco rum is clear and has a light body that would probably be best for the tea infusion. The brand's Oro rum is a gold color with a medium body and a woodier taste.
  • To make removing the tea easier, place it in a mesh tea infuser ball. This will eliminate the need to strain because you simply need to remove the ball once the infusion is done.
  • Ginger syrup is easy to make at home and can be ready within an hour. As an alternative, if you have a bottle of ginger liqueur in stock, it's a perfect substitute.

How Strong Is a Mad Hatter's Tea Party?

The two recommended rums are bottled at 80 proof and the nonalcoholic mixers are only accents, so this is a rather strong cocktail. It should mix up to have an alcohol content around 20 percent ABV (40 proof), or half the strength of a straight shot of the rum.

Recipe Tags: