Welcome to Frozen Drinks Week on Food Republic. We’re excited to bring you a bunch of stories that will make surviving the summer heat a little more — spirited. This drink from Talde head bartender Bill Riley takes white whiskey (moonshine, white dog, undrinkable swill) and shapes it into something beautiful, with help from the flavors of Thailand and Japan. We will let Riley explain.
The drink started off with owners David [Massoni], Dale [Talde], John [Bush] and I joking around about moonshine and corn in general. I start off with a raw corn whiskey that is called Georgia Moon. It's an 80 proof moonshine. I open the jars up and add a few green tea bags and let that steep for about 2 weeks. This transforms the raw moonshine into a completely different product. The green tea softens and gives the moonshine a more complex flavor while still retaining its sweetness. On its own, raw whiskey can be hard to deal with. Adding the tea makes it much more palatable.
Ingredients
- 2 oz green tea moonshine (see below)
- 2 oz green tea syrup (see below)
- 2 oz cucumber Thai basil juice (see below)
- 2 oz fresh lime juice
- shaved ice
Directions
Build all components in a pint glass full of ice. Give it a good shake and set aside. Fill a clean pint glass with shaved ice. Clear a channel in the ice with a big bubble straw and strain the drink into the cavern in the shaved ice. Garnish it with a big slice of fresh cucumber.
Green Tea Moonshine
Ingredients
1 jar Georgia Moon Raw Corn Whiskey (moonshine)
4 green tea bags
Directions:
Add the tea bags to the jar of moonshine and let the bags steep for 2 weeks.
Green Tea Simple Syrup
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
4 green tea bags
Midori Melon Liqueur
Directions:
Mix the water and sugar together in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the green tea bags to the pot. Take the pot off the heat and let the tea bags steep for about an hour, letting the syrup get back to room temperature. Once the green tea simple syrup has cooled, add a splash of Midori melon liquor.
Cucumber Thai Basil Juice
Ingredients
4 cucumbers cubed
10 Thai basil leaves
¼ cup lime juice
Directions:
Fill a blender with cubed cucumber, Thai basil and lime juice and blend together until mixture is super smooth and fully blended. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for a 2-3 hours to let all the favors come together. Use a cheese cloth to separate the pulp and juice. Discard the pulp and retain the juice.
