Buzz
Putting a holiday spin on a classic cocktail is a great idea, but the 'seasonal twist' often seems limited to cinnamon. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it—it’s familiar, unobtrusive, subtly sweet without being sugary, and even said to be beneficial for blood pressure. As a result, it finds its way into nearly every holiday cocktail, the go-to solution for making a drink feel just right for the moment.
However, it's a bit outdated. In fact, it’s so mild that an entire state even adds it to its chili without much trouble. It’s no saffron, that’s for sure.
So, instead of yet another holiday recipe that just swaps syrups, here’s a suggestion: grab some Coconut Crush Chai and add it to whatever you’re mixing. Better still, get some Coconut Crush Chai and incorporate it into anything you’ve got on your bar cart.
Infusing tea into spirits, liqueurs, or fortified wines is not a new concept, but it’s certainly gaining momentum in the craft cocktail scene, and for good reason. Many herbal teas share similar ingredients with herbal liqueurs and amaros, so in some cases, you’re simply enhancing familiar flavors. Unlike other ingredients that may be used improperly or clumsily, tea is specifically designed for infusing, and it does so with remarkable ease and speed. Fresh herbs can sometimes taste dull or even bitter in comparison, and many spices need extensive preparation—roasting, grinding, and so on—taking up valuable time for a somewhat one-dimensional result. Tea, however, brings a refined, complex blend of flavors that’s perfectly suited for blending into liquid, where it imparts just the right amount of itself.
While flipping through the Nomad Cocktail Book in search of holiday drink ideas beyond the usual cinnamon fare, I stumbled upon Leo Robitschek’s recipe for chai-infused sweet vermouth. Already familiar with Tea Spot from its frequent mentions in Death & Co (and its regular use in my own bar), I grabbed a bag of Coconut Crush and began experimenting with different spirits. The results have been nearly universally positive.
The recipe is straightforward: Take 30 grams of tea and add it to a 750 milliliter bottle of liquor. Let it steep for around five minutes, strain, and enjoy. No complicated techniques like vacuum bagging, immersion circulating, or heating are required. While there are some subtleties in achieving your ideal infusion and flavor concentration, they are quite easy to understand:
Proof is in the pudding: One reason alcohol makes an ideal medium for tea infusion is that its higher proof accelerates the process. A stronger liquor will extract flavors from the tea more quickly, meaning you’ll get a richer infusion in just five minutes when using whiskey compared to vermouth.
Timing is everything: Robitschek also emphasizes that extending the infusion time to extract more flavor only works up to a point. Too long, and bitterness creeps in. If you want a stronger flavor, it’s better to add more tea for the same duration rather than letting it steep longer with the same amount. You can even infuse in stages: Add 30 grams for five minutes, taste, then add another 5-10 grams for another five minutes, and continue from there.
At the bar, we’ve infused Coconut Crush into nearly everything. The obvious picks are barrel-aged spirits, where the added spice delivers a festive kick. Whiskey, rum, and apple brandy all shine. However, we've also had great success with amaros and herbal liqueurs, where the coconut softens some of the bitterness, and the spice complements the existing botanical flavors. (Milder amaros work best—Averna and Ramazzotti were fantastic, but Jaeger, while tasty, leaned too much into a fireball-like vibe.) Surprisingly, Coconut Crush has found a permanent place in one of our martini-style cocktails, made with Old Tom gin (recipe included below).
The most practical choice for home infusions might be Robitschek’s original suggestion: vermouth. Infuse the tea into your preferred sweet vermouth (Cocchi Torino is an excellent option), and you’ll be ready to create holiday versions of classic cocktails—Manhattans, Boulevardiers, or even a simple vermouth and soda—imbued with holiday spirit instead of just cinnamon or chili vibes.
And a quick reminder: The vermouth you purchase in December, whether it’s tea-infused or not, won’t last beyond January. Keep it in the fridge during this time, and when it’s done, don’t hesitate—just throw it out. Please.
Rapid Holiday Tannenbaum Tea Infusion
Ingredients:
30 grams of Coconut Crush Chai
750 milliliters of any liquor, liqueur, or vermouth
Mix the tea and alcohol in a large jar, giant measuring cup, or any container that can hold 750 milliliters. Let it steep at room temperature for five minutes, then strain it back into the bottle. From there, it’s ready to be used in various holiday-inspired cocktails. If you need some ideas, we’ve got several delightful suggestions below.
Secret Handshake (from Double Dragon)
1 3/4 ounces Beefeater London Dry gin
½ ounce chai-infused Hayman’s Old Tom gin
¾ ounce Cocchi Americano
¼ ounce Calisaya
3 dashes of orange bitters
Lemon twist for garnish
Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass, stir over ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Boulevardier
1 1/2 ounces Bourbon
3/4 ounce Campari
3/4 ounce chai-infused Cocchi Torino
Orange twist for garnish
Build the drink in a double rocks glass, add a large ice cube, stir, and garnish with an orange twist.
Martinez
2 ounces chai-infused Hayman’s Old Tom gin
1 1/2 ounces Carpano Antica
1/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino
3 dashes of orange bitters
Lemon twist for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, stir over ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Employees Only Manhattan
1 ¾ ounces chai-infused Cocchi Torino*
1 ½ ounces Rittenhouse Rye
½ ounce Grand Marnier
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Lemon twist for garnish
Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass, stir over ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
*Since this cocktail is vermouth-forward, a 30-gram infusion might be too much. Start with 15 grams and increase it to taste.
