MxMo XLII: Dairy

It's time again for Mixology Monday, the monthly celebration of cocktails on blogs around the world. This month, our hosts are the fine folks over at eGullet, led by group manager Chris Amirault. Here was the instruction for this month's theme:

"Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of opportunities for digging through vintage receipts for a taste of the past, and as always innovation is highly encouraged."

I've recently written about another drink that calls for cream, the Smashing Pumpkin. In addition, I give you the Jasmine Orchid.

I am enamored with jasmine these days, although have set it aside for the last month or so. This drink calls for both jasmine syrup as the sweetener, and jasmine tea to enhance the jasmine further. It's definitely a dessert-style drink, and I served it alongside apple pie at a pairing dinner - it was a nice pairing. Of course, since it requires a lot of shaking, I made the guests who wanted refills shake their own!

Jasmine Orchid
2 oz Vanilla Vodka (see note below)
1 oz Jasmine Tea Syrup (see note below)
1 oz Cream or Half & Half
1 large egg white
1/2 oz Jasmine Tea (see note below)
1 oz Club Soda

Combine vanilla vodka, syrup, cream, egg white and tea in shaker; shake well without ice. Add ice, and shake vigorously, longer than you think you might need to. Strain into champagne flute or coupe glass; top with soda. If desired, garnish with a few jasmine tea leaves or a jasmine pearl.

For vodka: I used our Tahitian Vanilla, which is getting rather hard to find since we suspended production. I imagine others made with real vanilla will work too, such as Tru.

For syrup: heat 1 cup of water, steep one tea bag (or equivalent) in water for 45 secs. Remove tea bag, add one cup sugar, and stir well to dissolve. Cool completely, and refrigerate.

For tea: steep 1 tea bag in 1 cup water for 45 seconds, then remove tea. Cool completely, then chill.

I used Republic of Tea Asian Jasmine White Tea for this drink, so the advice above is for their tea bags. As with any tea, you may need to adjust based on the strength and potency of the tea you use.

Thanks to the folks over at eGullet for hosting this month!

Note: photo is from istockphoto.com.