NYE Cocktail Tasting Menu

cocktails

As we get older, we find ourselves more reluctant to go out on holidays. New Year’s, Valentine’s… we’d just rather stay home. This past New Year’s Eve we spoiled ourselves with some Bon Chon Korean Fried Chicken while watching the original Home Alone. With frequent pausing to whip up these drinks of course!

The collage above is hot-linked to the respective cocktail recipes. Or, you can see the full tasting menu, with individual photos below.

We ended the night with a bottle of sparkling wine and watching the ball drop on CNN with Anderson Cooper and the always awkward Kathy Griffin.

10888881_10101861327571436_7797182702232115997_nAnd of course, a traditional selfie with our awesome cat, Leopold. It is a tad ironic that I’m a bit late in posting this — so late that it’s actually the Lunar New Year’s Eve!

Absinthe Suissesse Spiked Nog Gin-Gin-Gin Mule Ume Sour Bananary Buzz Apricot Winter Monk's Hot Chocolate

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Single Origin Teas: Ginseng Oolong

Packaging

Description

Ginseng Oolong, or Lan Gui Ren or just Ren Shen, is a very popular tea in China. This oolong grown in the Hainan province is covered in a fine powder of ginseng and liquorice. These small olive-green pearls release the flavors of the ginseng and the tea at the same time. We are quite fond of this tea, especially when we need to be at our best mentally. This sweet brew does not need any sugar, and can be infused multiple times, though we think the first couple are the best!

Available through: Single Origin Teas (Limited Edition).

Tasting Notes

I love oolongs and this is no exception. The dry tea is more like pellets than leaves and look to be coated in some kind of dust. The brewed tea doesn’t have a strong smell, but when sipping has great flavor. It opens with the taste of juicy plums and hibiscus, then blends into the earthiness and warmth of ginseng. It is very well balanced and naturally sweet. The cup is smooth with no astringency.

At first I tried 1 teaspoon of tea to a cup, but then I upped it to 2 teaspoons with multiple re-steeps. This tea holds up well to re-steeping.

Flavors: Earth, Fruit Tree Flowers, Ginger, Plums

Product provided for review.  All notes & opinions are my own.

Simple Loose Leaf Tea: Insomniac’s Dream Herbal

Description

This dreamy tisane blends five calming herbs into one delicious tea. Catnip and Chamomile Flowers lure the drinker into a mellow, relaxed mood, while the bright flavors of Peppermint, Lemon Balm and Lemongrass dance around their palate, resulting in a tea that is at once effective and unforgettable. But drinker beware- you may hit the pillow before finishing your cup!

Ingredients: Catnip, Chamomile, Lemon Balm, Lemongrass, Peppermint

Available through: Simple Loose Leaf | Facebook

Tasting Notes

The scent of this tea is much stronger than the taste. Has aromas of grass, mint, hay, a hint of citrus and a heavy dose of honey from the chammomile.

The taste is smooth, light, and sweet with a hint of floral honey on the finish. I thought it would be a lot heavier tasting after smelling, but it wasn’t too rich.

Flavors: Grass, Hay, Honey, Mint

About logo

Simple Loose Leaf is not just another simple tea club that uses its members to get rid of spare inventory that is about to expire. We are a Subscription Box company dedicated to enriching people’s lives through the love of tea. Tea is the world’s most consumed drink, behind water, for a reason. The variety of tea and the beautiful nuances of tea rival the great wines of history, and we are just at the beginning of the tea revolution here in the United States.

Product provided for review.  All notes & opinions are my own.

Fashionista Tea: Creamy Earl Grey

Photos by Fashionista Tea

Description

Organic, high grown estate black tea hand blended with cornflowers, fragrant oil of bergamot and a touch of French Vanilla.

Ingredients: Organic black tea, Organic Cornflowers, Organic Oil of Bergamot, Natural Flavor

Available through: Fashionista Tea | Facebook

Tasting Notes

The smell of the dry leaf is strong with bergamot and finishes with cream. The taste when brewed is creamy and floral with a slight hint of pepper. This is a great, smooth and flavorful tea.

Flavors: Bergamot, Cream, Pepper

About Fashionista Tea

Fashion & Tea meet to create the 1st company to blend the two worlds together with a collection of gourmet teas crafted to impart a unique taste and an aura of sophistication featuring its signature “Fashionista” Blend created specifically for the line.

Product provided for review.  All notes & opinions are my own.

Nepali Tea Traders: Everest First Flush

everest_first_flush_f406622-edit

Photo by Nepali Tea Traders

 

Description

Our Everest First Flush tea is hand-picked in April from the tender buds of the tea plants that emerge after several months of dormancy as the days turned crisp, sunny, and bright. This unique, artisan tea is a vibrant expression of the fresh Himalayan spring. Its beautiful, long leaves reflect the subtleties of the season. Upon delivery of the freshly picked leaves to the Sandakphu factory, it is processed initially by hand by gently rolling the leaves, then allowed to wither overnight. The following day, the leaves are mechanically rolled to achieve natural oxidation while preserving the fresh, spring green color. The liquor is pale and pure. The tea’s gentle, aromatic profile features floral and lilac notes. The first sip reveals a smooth, sweet tea, with refreshing spring astringency. This tea finishes with crisp vegetal notes and hints of roasted corn. Like Nepal’s famed peak, this is the pinnacle of our first flush teas.

Available through: Nepali Tea Traders | Facebook

Tasting Notes

Very clean, buttery and naturally sweet. This tastes more like a green tea than a black tea and has a nice, clear broth. Absolutely no bitterness or astringency and sips very smoothly. This tea seems like a great beginner point for unflavored teas, but nothing jumps out at me.

Flavors: Sweet, warm grass

About logo

Nepali Tea Traders is inspired by the Nepalese people, who live in one of Asia’s poorest countries and have few resources but are incredibly warm and generous with what little they do have. Nepalese farmers work hard, carefully handpicking and crafting premium teas, but buyers have often paid them below market value and sold their teas as fine Indian Darjeelings instead. They want Nepal to gain the recognition it deserves as a world-class origin for tea and are committed to paying fair prices and helping build a sustainable tea economy that can improve quality of life.

Product provided for review.  All notes & opinions are my own.