The Fastest Way To Warm Up

Whenever we write these glassware columns, either Miya or Elisabeth usually sends us a specific piece and we go from there, but this week they sent us a whole selections of things and told us to pick.  They made the crucial mistake of giving us choices.  We’re like two years olds, you should only present us two options: “do you want to wear your blue pants or your purple skirt?” “do you want an apple or an orange for snack?” “do you want to write about a martini glass or a champagne flute?”   

Give me all of these options and I get flustered and want to pick everything!  I pick the absinthe spoon!  Wait, then I can really only write about absinthe and that may cause me to have flash backs to my time in Prague when I drank some and then tried to put my pajamas on by putting my head through the sleeve and getting really confused…. Well, maybe I’ll write about these Cairo Beverage Dispensers, I once had an amazing Aqua Fresca out of a similar dispenser so seeing one makes me think of that…. BUT WAIT!   

Absinthe Spoon and Cairo Beverage Dispenser from Velocity Home

Then I see it, and I know.  THIS is what I’m supposed to writing about.  “Really?” you’re thinking, “Of everything you pick a tea pot?”  Yes, I do, but stick with me, because I have a really good reason.  About a month ago the Snowpocalypse came to Nashville (which means 2 inches of snow), so a bunch of us ventured through the snowstorm to Burger Up, the delicious neighborhood burger place.  On this particular evening, the bartender had concocted a whiskey winter warmer.  Everyone else ordered it, but I’m not that into whiskey usually, so I stuck with my wine order.  After taking a sip of one of their drinks I pushed my wine aside and ordered my own winter warmer (have no fear, I still drank the wine, I just saved it for dinner!).   

Readers, I cannot emphasize how good this drink was, it was just so warm and lovely and just what you want on a cold snowy evening (which I know you New Yorkers are having plenty of this winter)... And it involves a teapot, thus my choice this week.  I don’t have the exact recipe, and I can’t even give proper credit (bartender at Burger Up just doesn’t seem like enough) so you may have to tinker with the proportions of this, but it will be worth it.

Roost Branch Tea Pot

Winter Warmer

Five Spice Simple Syrup*

Whiskey

Lemon Ginger Tea

Ginger Beer

Put  an ounce to an ounce and half of whiskey and a half an ounce of the simple syrup in a mug, pour in the hot lemon ginger tea from your adorable tea pot, add ginger beer to taste (I asked for extra ginger beer in mind since I LOVE ginger).  Sit back and enjoy while telling yourself that spring will be here soon.

*Five Simple Syrup is, surprise, simple to make.  Bring one cup of water, one cup of sugar and a tablespoon of five spice (use a lot in Chinese cooking, so you should be able to find it) to a boil.  Let simmer until all of the sugar is dissolved.  Let it cool and then strain it through a tea towel.  You can store it in a sealable container in the fridge!