It's Monday, and you deserve a cocktail just for getting out of bed this morning.  Let's face it, sometimes Mondays are just the worst. Your weekend high turns into a weekend somber on Sunday night and then it's back to the grind the next morning.  Or at least that is how it all plays out in our house.  That's why you deserve to come home from work today and whip up this tasty tea spiked with a little somethin' somethin' to wind down.  These ginger, lemon, and honey infused iced tea cocktails are mine and Canean's new favorite go to summer cocktail, perfect for front porch sittin' when it's nice and steamy outside.

Is there anything more southern than sweet tea really?  There might be a couple of close contenders, but really sweet tea is just in so many of my memories of summer growing up.  That's why I decided I wanted to make an iced tea cocktail with a few flavor enhancers that would be perfect for quenching your thirst all summer long! 

Let's face it, in Louisiana we need all the help we can get staying cool.  And if a cocktail can help achieve my optimum body temperature, then who am I to mess with that?  It's basically a necessity...yes, definitely a necessity.

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of Water
• 4 Black Tea Bags
• 2, 2 inch pieces of Fresh Ginger (unpeeled)
• Juice of One Lemon (plus more for garnish)
• 2 strips of Lemon Rind (careful to not get the white)
• 1/4 Cup Raw Honey
• 1/4 Cup Stevia
• Vodka (bourbon would be delicious too)

Directions:

-Bring your 4 cups of water to a boil.

-Add tea bags, honey, lemon juice and rind, and ginger pieces and turn off the heat. 

-Let the tea steep for 20 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.

-In a pitcher, add your stevia and then once tea is steeped, pour over top and stir until dissolved.  Fill the pitcher the rest of the way up with more water.

-Refrigerate

*To serve pour one shot of vodka over ice in your glass of choice and then fill the rest of the glass with tea and garnish with a slice of lemon.

*I don't mix the whole pitcher together with alcohol (unless you are having a party) because the tea is delicious on its own too if you didn't want to make it a cocktail!

So go ahead, whip yourself up a batch and see why this tea will be your new favorite go to make at home drink during these hot months! 

Cheers!  What's your favorite summer cocktail?