Sparkling Black Cherry + Green Tea Cocktails

This post is brought to you by White Claw Hard Seltzer. Recipes and ideas are my own.

I could drink green tea all the live long day. I’ve convinced myself it’s a cure all drink; tired: drink tea. Feeling like I’m about to catch a cold: drink more tea. Stressed: GREEN TEA. But it’s also my secret cocktail ingredient. Green tea adds an earthy layer of flavor that gives a touch of savory to whatever drink you add it to.

The summer months mean I switch from hot to iced tea, and now I include big squeezes of lemon, and maybe a little simple syrup. OK OK, I’m making green Arnold Palmers half the time and today I’m using that as the base for my new summer cocktail with White Claw Hard Seltzer.

You might not have heard of this brand before and that’s OK. They’re not only brand new on the market, but hard seltzer is a whole new category unto itself. The best part of adding them to cocktails is that they’re all natural and additive-free. You guys know I just can’t tolerate the taste of synthetic–yuck. To add some effervescence to my cocktail, and just a hint of sweet fruit juice, I chose their Black Cherry flavor (my husband’s favorite) to compliment the earthy green tea and tart lemon. The seltzer is only 5% alcohol so I paired it with some white rum to round out the cocktail.

I’m loving this cocktail right now as I’m sweating to death here in Southern California. It’s so refreshing and light which is what I’m looking for with my summer drinks. Who wants something heavy and sickly sweet? And even though the White Claw Hard Seltzer is delicious all on it’s own (they come in 12 ounce cans you can just throw in your fridge for a chilled low cal drink anytime), it’s a great addition to my summer drink line up.

So let’s crack a can open and start mixing!

1-1/2 ounces white rum
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 green tea syrup (recipe below)
5-6 ounces of White Claw hard Seltzer, Black Cherry flavor
lemon wedges and cherries for garnish.

In a highball glass, build your drink by filling your glass with ice. Then add in white rum, lemon juice, green tea and top with White Claw Hard Seltzer. Stir gently to combine. Garnish with lemon wedges and cherries.

Green Tea Syrup

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 green tea bags

In a small sauce pan over medium high heat, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once a boil is reached, turn off heat and remove the pan from the stove. Add in the two tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes remove the tea bags and let cool. When the syrup is cool, use for drinks or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month.