Sip Slowly: The Sultana Spritz

Meet Emily Hisel, the bartender at Quality Time who leads cocktail creation, menu development, and event coordination and who crafted the Sip Slowly, Sultana Spritz. Read below as she shares the inspiration behind this cocktail.

How did you decide which tea to use?

I like the Jasmine Green tea for its floral and grassy notes. For a spring/summer inspired spritz cocktail, I think the jasmine brings a unique playfulness.

How did you decide on the name for the cocktail?

Finding cocktail names that are fun but not too corny is tough! When we decided on using Jasmine tea I immediately thought of Disney Princess Jasmine—she was the daughter of a Sultan, making her a "Sultana"--hence the name "Sultana Spritz".

Can you describe how the tea interacts with the other ingredients in the cocktail?

The tea mellows out the spirits and creates a well-rounded and earthy flavor. The elderflower and violet liquors can have a perfume-y effect, and I think the tea balances it all without being overly floral.

Were there any surprises while working with tea as an ingredient?

Tea is very versatile as a cocktail additive. I initially waned to infuse the tea within a spirit, but I found that adding it as a flavorful dilution was a better way to control the taste without using excess product. Creating cocktails is a lot of trial-and-error, so when you use high quality ingredients you can get better results.