Ah, Iced Tea. It got it’s start here on American soil when an English tea merchant set up a booth at the St Louis World’s Fair in 1904 but it was far too hot for anyone to want warm tea. Even though I’ve heard it said that hot tea can can cool you off, and supposedly does so faster than drinking a cool beverage, you’d be hard-pressed to convince most of the folks I know of that.

Saturday, June 8, 2013, is National Iced Tea Day.

I’m sure you can come up with plenty of ways to enjoy your iced tea, but I’m going to pull out a particular favorite from my 50 Shots of America series: South Carolina’s Hospitality Suite. Sure, sure, sweet tea vodka blends are all over the prepared drink market, but I still think my combination of peach schnapps and strong tea is far and away better. And while you can certainly shake it and serve it as a diminutive drink as originally devised (all the better to share with), you can also stir the ingredients below together and pour them over ice and enjoy this one all on your own.

Hospitality Suite

3 oz Brewed Tea, strong
2 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz Tan Sugar Syrup (simple syrup made with half white and half brown sugar)
1/2 barspoon Vanilla (the real thing, no imitation extracts!)

Combine over ice in a large shaker and give it a firm handshake to a count of ten. Strain into 2 chilled cordial glasses. (Or combine over a full glass of ice in an Old Fashioned glass and sip for 1.)

Cheers!