July 17, 2025

Lucky gardeners have an abundance of summer mint. Crush some leaves in your fingers to release an invigorating aroma. Make desserts . Add to savory dishes. Have some refreshing mint  iced tea – this is my favorite way to keep the plants trimmed. Allowing them to flower cuts down on leaf production and, therefore, you have less mint to enjoy.

Shrub cocktails are popular, as are shrub beverage mixes. These tart liquids add excitement to plain seltzer and make everyday drinks special. Iced tea goes with summer like hand and glove. Blessedly, Richmond is home to Cirrus Vodka, a clean and pure spirit equally good for sipping on ice as it is in cocktails. Award winning for good reasons, Cirrus perfectly complements the mint and shrub elements of today’s drink.

This vodka cocktail can easily be used in a mocktail recipe by simply adding more iced tea instead of spirits.

I take the extra step of heating the honey mint mixture to release oils, after chopping the mint lightly, which mimics muddling with an instrument. Add pure apple cider vinegar and vodka. Chill the mixture several hours or overnight, noting that mint flavor strengthens with a longer chill time.

Use unsweetened iced tea, commercial or homemade, as the honey mint syrup is already sweet. Skip the tea addition entirely for a flavorful summer beverage topped with seltzer.

Mint Tea Shrub Vodka Cocktail

recipe by Michele Humlan, The Good Eats Company

makes one cocktail and may be made in batches

ingredients

2 large sprigs fresh mint, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon pure apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 ounces vodka
unsweetened iced tea to top glass, well chilled

directions

1. Make sure mint is dry before chopping.
2. In small glass dish, stir chopped mint leaves with honey.
3. Microwave 15-20 seconds to bloom flavor.
4. Add vinegar and  vodka and chill at least several hours or overnight – longer chill time means stronger mint flavor.
5. At serving time, strain mint mixture and add to glass, adding iced tea and leaving room for ice cubes.
6. Garnish with mint sprig if desired.
7. To make mocktail, omit vodka and add iced tea to honey vinegar mint mixture, then chill.
8. Alternately, simply top the strained mint mixture with chilled seltzer.