It’s just a few days until Christmas and I’ve been thinking of dishes and drinks to make for my friends and family. I love my coffee, but when the temperature drops, there’s nothing more relaxing than getting wrapped up in an oversized sweater and having a cup of tea. This oolong toddy cocktail recipe from Shaker & Spoon gives you that warm, soothing feeling of having tea, but with a kick of bourbon. This cocktail is also on the lighter side, which makes it perfect to sip after that big Christmas dinner.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 oolong tea bag
• 1 orange wheel, 1/4 inch thick
• 1 pinch demerara sugar
• 1 dash cardamom bitters
• 1 oz orange-ginger spice syrup
• 1 star anise pod
• 2 oz bourbon

If you’ve ordered the Winter Bourbon Box from Shaker & Spoon, it’ll come with all these ingredients, except for the bourbon.

The oolong toddy is a drink that gets steeped and stirred. It’s pretty simple to make, and that orange wheel is what makes it a showstopper to whoever you’re making it for.

Here’s how you mix the drink:

• Heat a cup of filtered water and steep your tea bag in it for about 5 minutes.
• While this is going on, heat up a small skillet (on medium-low heat) and add a teaspoon of canola oil. Place your orange wheel in the pan and sprinkle the demerara sugar on both sides. Cook evenly, until the orange is caramelized and browned but not burned. This will take about 5 minutes.
• Once that’s done, your tea should be ready. Remove the tea bag and add in the bourbon, bitters and syrup. Stir about 20 rotations.
• Serve in a glass mug. To garnish, float the caramelized orange wheel on top along with the star anise pod.

These orange wheels really fancy the drink up, don’t they?

And that’s it! Pretty simple right? I hope you enjoyed this oolong toddy recipe and get to try it out. Just a reminder, there’s still some time left to order your Shaker & Spoon Winter Bourbon Box. If you do order, don’t forget to use our discount code to get 15% off: AGENCY15.
Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy the rest of this short week. Stay warm!

This post was in collaboration with Shaker & Spoon. All photos and opinions are my own. Drink responsibly.