This is one of my favorite cocktails to make for a big crowd. Everybody- and I mean everybody loves my Sweet Tea Martini! It's easy to make in big batches and because you control the amount of sugar you add, you can control the sweetness and the calories, too. When you use juice as a base for a cocktail, you're adding a ton of extra sugar. When you use tea as a base and you brew it yourself, you can add as little or as much sugar as you see fit. I often use zero additional sugar if I'm using a citrus flavored vodka but if I use lemon juice instead, I need a bit of sugar to balance that out.
If you use store bought tea by the gallon, I'd suggest using unsweetened tea and making a simple syrup to add to taste. If you use sweet tea, you may find it is just too sweet when you add the Pama Liqueur.
Make the tea strong and do not dilute it with water so it isn't weak when you serve the cocktail over ice. Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe as required. This version will make 8-10 based on portion size when served over ice.
SWEET TEA MARTINI FOR A CROWD
INGREDIENTS
6 cups water
4 family-size tea bags (I use Red Diamond quart tea bags)
1/2 to 1 cup granulated sugar (optional- the Pama is a bit sweet so you can use as little or as much sugar as you like)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 bottle(750ml bottle) Pama Liqueur, chilled
1/2 bottle (750 ml bottle) vodka, chilled (you can use citrus vodka and reduce the lemon juice)
DIRECTIONS:
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan; add tea bags. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute; remove from heat. Cover and steep 10 minutes. White still hot, add desired amount of sugar. Stir to dissolve.
Remove and discard tea bags. Allow to cool completely.
Pour tea into a gallon container or into a serving dispenser. Add ½ of a 750 bottle chilled Pama and ½ bottle cold vodka. Use citrus vodka ifyou like and reduce the amount of lemon juice.
Serve over ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
