| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 20 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 1 quart |
Ingredients
- 6 cups sugar
- 3 cups water, plus 2 quarts, divided
- 1 1/2 ounces (or 3/4 cup) loose black tea leaves
- Ice cubes
- 2 lemons, zested
- 1/2 bunch fresh mint
- 2 ounces your favorite whiskey or bourbon per serving (recommended: Maker’s Mark)
Instructions
- Combine sugar and 3 cups water in a non-reactive saucepan. Slowly heat until sugar melts. Remove from heat and cool.
- Infuse the black tea in 1 quart of just boiled water for 2 minutes. Strain tea into a pitcher and then add 1 quart of room temperature water.
- Combine the tea and the cooled simple syrup, mixing well. Refrigerate until cool.
- To serve, fill a 12-ounce glass with ice cubes, a pinch of zest, and a sprig of mint. Add 2 ounces whiskey or bourbon and fill to the top with the sweetened tea. Stir and serve. Repeat as needed.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 40 servings |
| Calories | 120 |
| Total Fat | 0 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 30 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 3 mg |
Reviews
I cannot believe you used 6 cups of sugar for 1 pitcher of tea. That isn’t “Sweet Tea”, that is pancake syrup!!
Followed the recipe and wow unless you add more water or tea its way sweet. Any Suggestions?
Why in heaven’s name did you use so much sugar???? I am hoping that is was due to the addition of the bourbon .. but my guess is even if you added bourbon … 6 cups of sugar is not needed. A common misconception of the south is we just consume massive amounts of sugar with our tea! It’s no so for all. The general rule is 1 Cup of sugar to one gallon of finished tea. Some like myself prefer only 3/4 of a cup of sugar, and some prefer an extra 1/4 to their cup, most of the time you will find that it is people with diabetes who love their tea so sweet. 1 cup of sugar to one gallon of tea, that includes half the ‘jug’ being filled with steaped tea and the other with water. I was shocked when I heard him say 6 cups of sugar and prayed it was a mistake and then tought it must be because of the bourbon … but I still think it’s a bit much. We do NOT drink tea with our syrup!
3 stars because of difficulty. No, it isn’t super difficult, but I’ll stick to the way everyone in the south, where I grew up, makes it: 3 family size tea bags, pour sugar in pitcher with still hot tea concentrate, stir to dissolve, add water. Voila! And only one pan to clean…
It is hard to out do Mr. Lipton but preparing this recipe makes one feel as if it taste better. After you play with it for about an hour or so it will. The hard part is figuring out how much tea flavor you like. Once you drink it with the bourbon it no longer matters.
Whoa,way to much sugar and bourbon. I certainy hope there was a designated driver and no diabetics.