I know everyone is about the Pizza and Wine for Santa this holiday season, but I’m having a strange craving for sweets. So why not serve something warm and adult-appropriate with cookies instead? With the structure of a classic Irish Coffee, I’ve created a warm cocktail that uses Oolong tea and Cardamom instead! Not only that, I’m featuring TWO different spirits to choose from. So the real question is, are you team #Whiskey or #Vodka?
Both recipes are pretty much identical, they call for Cardamom infused cream, delicious Oolong Tea and a spirit. It’s my ode to the Irish Coffee after having a great session with the legendary Jared Boller. Once we started to talk about adaptations and introducing some tea flavours, I was all over it and eager to get experimenting.
Now I know a lot of you that haven’t warmed up to whiskey just yet. That’s why I’m giving options with this cocktail and wanting to know which would you choose. Before we dive into the recipes, here’s a few things to make note of.
The Ratio in Warm Cocktails
For an Irish Coffee, the typical ratio is about 1 oz Irish Whiskey, 2 oz Coffee and a dollop of fresh cream. Jared and I were on the same mindset and thought we’d go heavier with the spirit so we can get more of it’s nuisances. And that’s the thing, you’ll love this cocktail with Irish Whiskey if you want to taste the spirit. But if you want the flavours of the coffee or tea coming out more, swap it out with vodka.
Why Tea?
I don’t drink Coffee often. It upsets my stomach most of the time, that’s why I tend to opt for a Tea instead. Now with this creation, I let Oolong tea in a bath of half water and half milk and let it simmer for 2 minutes. When you let it simmer on the stove, the flavour of the oolong is much more pronounced and it reduces down to a beautiful concentrate. You don’t have to use just Oolong though…
Chai and Earl Grey would work MAGIC here. I would just avoid the more quiet flavours such as chamomile or mint tea. You could do it, but I am trying to aim for more of the warming spices of the holiday, because of course, that’s what Santa requested. For the brand I used here, I picked up some Sloane’s Oolong Creme.
You can do the full thing with water if you want to skip the dairy, I just loved the richness it added. Even give almond milk a try if you’d like.
Cardamom Infused Cream
I’ve seen a whipping cream shaker once before, but it wasn’t until an educational session with Jared, that I realized how crucial this is for your home. Shaking up cream this way will give you a bit of an arm workout. But it’s so easy to store, very affordable and easy to make a quick cream exactly how you want it.
To infuse the cream, I simply toasted up some cardamom pods until fragrant and used a mortar and pestle to extract it’s flavours. Then, I put it inside the shaker and used COLD heavy cream and gave it a shake! It was so simple that I’m sure you’ll see yourself shaking up a lot more unique flavoured creams.
Why did I choose Cardamom? Other than the fact that I love this flavour, I knew it would lend well with the Irish Whiskey and tea spices. Plus that drizzle of orange zest on top helps balance out all that flavour with some bright citrus! Don’t want to use cardamom? Use cinnamon if you’d like, or star anise, nutmeg, any of your favourite winter spices.
Milk & Irish Cookies
The Irish Coffee gets a makeover with some Oolong Tea and Cardamom infused Cream.
– Difficulty: Intermediate
Ingredients
- 3 Cardamom Pods Toasted than crushed with Mortar and Pestle
- 1.5 oz Bushmill's Black Bush Whiskey
- 2 oz Oolong Tea Mix
- 1/2 cup Chilled Heavy Cream
- 1 Orange Zest
Instructions
Add hot water to your tempered glass or mug.
In a whipped cream shaker, add cardamom and cream. Give this a vigorous shake (at least 30 seconds), until the cream is firm enough not to drip off the side of your hand. Set aside in fridge while you make the drink.
Empty out our glass and add your whiskey, Oolong Tea Mix and top with cream. Lightly zest a touch of orange on top of cream.
Recipe Notes
To make the Oolong Tea Mix, simply combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup whole milk with 1 oolong tea bag. Add 1 large tbsp of Honey and let this some to a simmer on the stove for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and use!
Milk and Vodka Cookies
We're using Vodka this time around on this adaption of the Irish Coffee…that has no Irish whiskey or coffee at all!
– Difficulty: Intermediate
Ingredients
- 3 Cardamom Pods Toasted than crushed with Mortar and Pestle
- 1.5 oz Prairie Organic Vodka
- 2 oz Oolong Tea Mix
- 1/2 cup Chilled Heavy Cream
- 1 Orange Zest
- Instructions
- Add hot water to your tempered glass or mug.
Instructions
- Add hot water to your tempered glass or mug.
- In a whipped cream shaker, add cardamom and cream. Give this a vigorous shake (at least 30 seconds), until the cream is firm enough not to drip off the side of your hand. Set aside in fridge while you make the drink.
Empty out our glass and add your Vodka, Oolong Tea Mix and top with cream. Lightly zest a touch of orange on top of cream.
Recipe Notes
To make the Oolong Tea Mix, simply combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup whole milk with 1 oolong tea bag. Add 1 large tbsp of Honey and let this some to a simmer on the stove for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and use!
