Is your favorite iced tea tasting a little plain lately? Try one of these delicious boozy sweet tea recipes!
Tea combined with alcohol has a long history in the United States.
During the Colonial era, hosts often combined alcohol, fruit, sugar, and freshly brewed tea into potent punches for festive occasions.
These punches tended to go heavy on the alcohol and were more likely to call for green tea rather than black tea, but they were extremely popular with colonists.
Thanks to the fridge, we began chilling boozy tea and forgoing the alcohol, creating a cold, refreshing drink that anyone could enjoy during warm weather.
But that doesn’t mean that spiked sweet tea has gone by the wayside. In fact, it’s more popular than ever due to the cocktail renaissance of the last quarter-century!
Here are 8 of our favorite drinks that feature tea as a base ingredient.
Start by making a batch of sweetened ice tea. We offer 3 different recipes!
1. Kentucky Sweet Tea
Nothing symbolizes the Bluegrass State like a bottle of beautifully aged bourbon.
A Kentucky sweet tea is basically a glass of tea with your favorite bourbon added.
- Add a shot of bourbon to 8 ounces of iced tea and garnish with lemon slices.
- Serve over ice cubes.
2. Green Moonshine
If you’ve got a bottle of moonshine hanging out in the back of your pantry somewhere, summertime is a perfect season to make use of it.
Corn liquor tastes great with any kind of tea, but green is especially good.
- Boil 4 cups of cold water and 1/2 cup of sugar or honey in a pot.
- Once it has boiled, shut off the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes to cool slightly.
- Add 5 green tea bags, cover, and let steep for 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the bags, squeeze the excess water out, and discard.
- Pour in 8 ounces of moonshine and stir.
- Chill until cold, and then serve over ice with fresh mint sprigs or cucumber slices.
3. The John Daly
Arnold Palmers–that classic mixture of half iced tea and half lemonade–are popular with both children and adults.
But what if you just need it a little gussied up while hitting the links?
You make a John Daly, of course!
Poking fun at famous golfers is a serious past-time in some parts of the south. Join in the fun by making this effortless cocktail.
- 2 ounces sweet tea
- 2 ounces lemonade
- one shot of vodka
Stir everything in an ice-filled highball glass and garnish with a strawberry.
You’ll love our round-up of the best sweet tea brands.
4. Mojito Tea
The flavors of a classic mojito combined with sweet tea?
Yes, please!
Here’s a great, easy mojito tea recipe.
- Place 10 fresh mint leaves into the bottom of a pitcher and muddle with a wooden spoon.
- Add 3 cups of ice, 1 quart of cold tea, and 8 ounces of white rum.
- Add one tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juice and stir.
- Serve in tall glasses with ice and lime wedges.
5. Orange Margarita Tea
If mojitos aren’t your thing, perhaps some tea-based margaritas will quench your thirst on hot summer days.
- Combine 2 ounces of iced tea, 2 ounces of orange juice, and 2 ounces of tequila in a cocktail shaker.
- Shake and then pour over ice and garnish with an orange slice.
Orange juice can be substituted with an orange-flavored liqueur like Triple Sec, or you can make lemon margaritas by using fresh lemon juice or Limoncello instead.
6. Spiked Peach Tea
Peach crops are common in Georgia and so is this refreshing, fruity summer cocktail. All you need is a bottle of peach schnapps.
- Add 2 ounces of peach schnapps to 8 ounces of ice tea.
- Serve over ice garnished with a thin slice of fresh peach.
7. Sangria Tea
Sangria is tasty all by itself, but using ice tea as a base makes it even better. If you like wine you’ll love it combined with tea.
- Add 1 quart of cold tea to a large pitcher.
- Add 2 cups of dry white wine, like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
- Sweeten to taste with simple syrup and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
- Add 2 cups of chopped fruit to the pitcher and serve ice cold.
8. Porch Punch
Porch Punch is uncomplicated and delightful, much like an evening spent on your back porch, watching the sun go down.
- Place 4 Earl Grey tea bags and 2 cups of boiling water into a pitcher to steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the bags.
- Add 4 cups of orange juice, 2 cups of sparkling water, and 1 1/2 cups of bourbon.
- Serve in ice-filled glasses as the sun goes down.
The Last Word In Boozy Sweet Tea Recipes
You can combine sweet tea with many different kinds of alcohol to make refreshing summer cocktails, including wine, whiskey and flavored liqueurs.
Try one of these cocktails the next time you’re relaxing on a summer evening or hosting guests for a patio get-together. You won’t regret it!
Prefer boozy coffee? Check out our guide to the best liquor for coffee.
Boozy Sweet Tea FAQ
What alcohol goes well in tea?
The most common alcoholic addition to tea cocktails is bourbon, but any other kind of whiskey can be used in its place. Vodka and white rum also pair well with tea.
Can you make sweet tea vodka at home?
Yes, it’s not hard at all! Sweet tea-flavored vodka has become popular recently. Here’s how to infuse your own.
– Pour a 750 ml bottle of plain, clear vodka into a large jar.
– Add 4 bags of black tea, cover, and let sit on a countertop or windowsill.
– After 12 hours, the vodka should turn a deep reddish-brown, the color of strong black tea.
– Remove the tea bags and discard them.
– Sweeten the vodka with some simple syrup and serve over crushed ice.
