Brookhill Iced Tea

Mint juleps are traditional at the Kentucky Derby, but I wanted to come up with something a little different when I attended the Brookhill Steeplechase in Clayton, North Carolina. You will like the hint of mint and lemony flavor in this cooling beverage.

 

SERVES 8

 

2	quarts water
6	black tea bags
1½	cups Homemade Limoncello (recipe follows)
8	sprigs fresh mint, for garnish
8	lemon slices, for garnish

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, and let steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags, let the tea cool, and refrigerate until completely chilled.
2. Fill 8 tall glasses with ice cubes. Pour about 1 cup of tea into each glass, then add 3 tablespoons limoncello to each glass; stir. Drop a mint sprig into each glass and garnish with a lemon slice.

EXTRA POINTS You can brew and refrigerate the tea 1 day before the tailgate. The Homemade Limoncello will keep in the freezer indefinitely.

 

HOMEMADE LIMONCELLO

 

There are dozens of recipes out there for this digestivo that originated in Italy. Some add one grated lime to the mix for bitterness, and others infuse the sugar syrup with lemon as well. This is a recipe I’ve used many times, with great success. The empty vodka bottles, washed and dried thoroughly, are good for storing the finished limoncello, though you will need more than the two bottles.

 

MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS

 

20	lemons
2	750-milliliter bottles vodka
2	cups sugar
2	cups cold water

1. Grate the zest, avoiding the bitter white pith, from the lemons. Get the peel as fine as possible, using either a microplane grater or a regular grater and then chopping up the zest. Place the zest in a large, clean glass jar. Pour in 1 bottle of the vodka and shake. Place the jar in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks, shaking occasionally.
2. When the zest has lost its color and the vodka has turned yellow, the mixture is ready. It should smell fragrantly lemony. Strain the vodka through cheesecloth into another large, clean glass jar, pressing or squeezing the zest to remove all the oils. Stir in the second bottle of vodka.
3. Prepare a simple syrup by placing the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat to high and boil the syrup for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
4. Stir the cooled simple syrup into the lemon-infused vodka. Use a funnel to pour the limoncello into bottles for storage. Store in the freezer.