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Makin' it with Maren: Mixology Made Easy. A Cocktail Blog.

Get excited for my new spICED tea creation - The Steepy Hollow cocktail!


By: Maren Swanson • September 23rd, 2014
The Steepy Hollow: A Halloween spICED Tea Cocktail #Halloween #cocktails

Sometimes my cocktail creating process can evolve or devolve into something completely different from the original idea I started with, and that's exactly what happened the other day when I came up with my new Halloween inspired cocktail: The Steepy Hollow. If you've followed my blog contributions for Lovehappyhour.com for a while, then you may understand my deep love for Autumn and its associated holidays and seasonal offerings. October begins next week and so do my home, culinary and mixology preparations for one of my favorite months of the year, so stay tuned for some pumpkin-themed additions coming soon, too!


Anyway, I was so stoked the other day when I came home to a surprise bottle of Kraken Spiced Rum that my boyfriend purchased while I was away at work. He had listened to my brainstorming ideas for Halloween cocktails the other day and was kind enough to pick up a bottle of Kraken for me. I think the fact that he recently finished a screenplay about scary, undersea sea creatures spiked his enthusiasm, but either way it was such a kind gesture and I immediately got crakin' (pun intended) on my cocktail testing!

Kraken Spiced Rum
Villa Italia Blood Orange Soda

What started off as aln all black "Fright Night" drink idea quickly turned into a different tea-inspired libation. I steeped some black tea into the Kraken Black Spiced Rum and then played around with some fresh squeezed juices and other ingredients to create a tasty treat called the Steepy Hollow. It's essentially a spICED spiked tea with some fresh citrus flavors and the ingredients make for a fun and Fall based Halloween drink!

I first heated up 1 cup (about 6 oz & yields 6 cocktails) of the dark, Kraken rum in the microwave for a minute and then steeped one bag of black tea in it for about 5 minutes. Next, I removed the tea bag and once the rum was cool I was ready to make my drink. Now just follow the instructions below to create you very own Sleepy Hollow cocktail made with black tea and blood orange soda…boo haha! Cheers, and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more cocktail recipes and fun!


The Steepy Hollow (cocktail recipe)

The Steepy Hollow: A Halloween spICED Tea Cocktail #Halloween #cocktails

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz Kraken Black Spiced Rum steeped with 1 black tea bag
  • 1 oz Bacardi White Rum
  • 3/4 oz fresh squeezed orange juice (I used tangelo)
  • 1/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 oz of orange zest
  • *1/2 oz of orange-thyme simple syrup
  • 3 oz of Trader Joe's Blood Orange Italian Soda
  • 3 mint leaves (torn up)
  • ice

    Directions:

    Add tea infused Kraken Black Spiced Rum (see above), Bacardi White Rum, orange and lemon juice, orange zest, *orange-thyme simple syrup, mint leaves and ice in a shaker tin. Shake well until shaker tin gets very cold. Strain liquid into a glass of ice. Add 3oz of Trader Joe's Blood Orange Soda to your drink and then transfer back into the shaker and then back into the glass again to evenly distribute the soda with the rest of the drink. Garnish with an orange peel, mint sprig and optional Halloween pick. Enjoy!

    *To make orange-thyme simple syrup, boil 1 cup sugar with one cup water and add 5 fresh sprigs of thyme along with 5 long orange peels until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and strain store in air tight container for future use. This simple syrup is a great tea sweetener substitution for just plain old sugar in your hot or iced tea!

    Follow me on Twitter: @MarenSwanson for more mixology tips!

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