Growing up we always had a giant pitcher of iced tea in our fridge on hand to quench your thirst. I’ll never forget what it looked like either; it was in a big blue pitcher with a white lid. It was not southern sweet tea, it wasn’t unsweet tea, it was Nestea Lemon Iced Tea. We went through it like water in our house and it’s one of those things I remember vividly growing up. We would stir the tea in the pitcher with a big wooden spoon, skimming the bubbles off the top. As an adult, I haven’t had this in forever. I never order iced tea in restaurants, especially in the south since it’s overly sweet that it feels like dessert. But something lately has had me craving this childhood favorite. I’ve even found myself buying Snapple when I see it in a store (it’s the closest thing to the powder tea we had growing up).
So to celebrate the warm weather and one of my favorite thirst quenchers, I thought I’d make an adult version of this classic drink. I reached for something a little different than your standard vodka to spike this one though. There’s a southern vodka brand called Cathead Vodka that has great flavors from pumpkin spice to honeysuckle. I love them for whipping up interesting cocktails like my lemon fizz. For this one I went with the pecan flavor to really bring home the southern roots of sweet tea and added 1 1/2 oz of it to my glass before pouring in my iced tea. A squeeze of lemon and garnish of mint and you have yourself the perfect afternoon summer cocktail. Serve with the perfect summer dinner and you’re set.
Photos by Lady Flashback
