Healthy Drinks & a Recipe for a Lemon-Mint Tea Cocktail

During one of my trips to Vancouver last year, I was chatting with a mixologist who was participating in Tales of the Cocktail {a five day cocktail festival that celebrates the best people and drinks in the business}. His signature drink included a bevy of healthy ingredients {wheatgrass, cilantro, lime juice} and was seriously refreshing. Though I first tasted it in the winter, I could imagine sipping the green drink on a patio, while soaking in some sun.

It was later that day that someone told me that when cocktails are made with tea, the health benefits of the tea are increased by the addition of alcohol. Whether or not this is true, I don’t know. But I like it.

Over the weekend, I decided to try out a tea cocktail using some green tea, a handful of fresh mint, and a couple other ingredients. The result: a Lemon-Mint Tea Cocktail that is refreshing and perfect for hot-weather sipping. Healthy or not, it’s one tasty drink.

Lemon-Mint Tea Cocktail
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 lemon, thinly sliced
5 large mint leaves, plus more for garnish
½ cup strong brewed green tea, sweetened to taste with honey
1 ½ ounces vodka
Ice

Instructions:
1. Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice and add half of the sliced lemon, the mint leaves, the tea, and the vodka. Cover, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.

2. Prepare a cocktail glass by adding a few ice cubes and the rest of the sliced lemon. Pour the cocktail through the strainer into the glass, and finish with a couple of mint leaves, for garnish.