Calico Tea

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Cocktail History

The Calico Tea is a modern cocktail that was created by Jon and Lindsay Yeager in Nashville, Tennessee and was first published in their book The Ultimate Guide to Beer Cocktails: 50 Creative Recipes for Combining Beer & Booze. The recipe mixes a base of tart apply brandy and barleywine ale, the strongest type of beer that has a distinct malty flavor, with sweet citrus, a unique sage black tea syrup, and aromatic bitters.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Barleywine Ale: This is a type of beer made with malted barley, hops, water, and yeast, which are brewed and fermented to develop a rich, malty, high-alcohol flavor.

Apple Brandy: This is a type of brandy made with fermented apple juice and yeast, which is distilled and aged to develop a smooth, fruity flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Sage Black Tea Syrup: This is a sweetener made with sage leaves, black tea, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with an herbal, slightly dry flavor.

Aromatic Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with a blend of herbs, spices, roots, and botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop an aromatic, bittersweet flavor.

Sage Leaves: This an evergreen herb. I used fresh sage leaves.

Brands I Used

• 🔗 Zymurgy Brewing Company Barrel-Aged Talisman 2022 English Barleywine
• 🔗 Calvados Morin Selection
• 🔗 Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Bar Mat: This is a rubber or silicone mat that’s placed on the bar surface and used for catching spills, providing grip for glasses and tools, and keeping the workspace clean and organized.

Jigger: This is a small double-sided tool with different volume measurements on each side that’s used for accurately portioning ingredients.

Boston Shaker: This is a two-piece cocktail shaker made with a large metal tin and a second tin or mixing glass that’s used for shaking and chilling cocktail ingredients.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is a flat metal strainer with a handle and a coiled spring around the edge that’s used for straining shaken cocktails from a shaker while holding back ice and solids.

Cutting Board: This is a flat, durable kitchen surface made from materials like wood or plastic that’s used for slicing ingredients and preparing garnishes.

Paring Knife: This is a small kitchen knife with a narrow, sharp blade that’s used for peeling fruit and trimming garnishes.

Electric Citrus Juicer: This is a kitchen appliance with a motorized reamer that’s used for quickly extracting juice from citrus fruits.

Fine Mesh Strainer: This is a mesh metal strainer with a tightly woven bowl and handle that’s used for straining out small ice shards and other solids while pouring cocktails from a shaker or mixing glass.

Measuring Cup: This is a kitchen tool with a handled cup and marked volume measurements that’s used for accurately measuring and pouring liquid ingredients.

Bottle Opener: This is a handheld tool that’s used for removing caps, corks, or seals from bottles.

Lowball Glass: This is a short, wide glass with a thick base that’s used for serving cocktails with ice or spirits neat.

Tools I Used

• 🔗 A Bar Above 18×12 Premium Bar Mat
• 🔗 A Bar Above Stainless Steel Japanese Jigger
• 🔗 A Bar Above Stainless Steel Boston Shaker
• 🔗 A Bar Above Stainless Steel Hawthorne Strainer
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Cutting Board Set
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife
• 🔗 BLACK+DECKER 32 oz Electric Citrus Juicer
• 🔗 Barfly Silver Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Cocktail Strainer
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 2 Cup Angled Measuring Cup
• 🔗 OXO Stainless Steel Bottle & Can Opener

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Vibrant brown-ish orange color

• Aroma: Sage with slight apple notes

• Taste: Dark ale and black tea right away followed by sweet, ripe apple

• Finish: More apple with malty beer

Kendall’s Take: “I’m glad I found multiple uses for the barleywine ale while I had a bottle. I think that, of the two cocktails I tried that featured its strong malty flavor (the other being The Rosenthal), this was my favorite one. The tart apple and lemon flavors along with the herbal tea syrup ended up being a delicious flavor combination that had a refreshing and sweet tang. The Calico Tea is certainly worth a reshake if you don’t mind putting in a little work!”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Ultimate Guide to Beer Cocktails: 50 Creative Recipes for Combining Beer & Booze by Jon and Lindsay Yeager.