english cobbler

2 oz Rum (Appleton 12 Year)
1 oz Strong Tea (Black Tea)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Sugar

Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass filled with crushed ice. Add straw and garnish with a berry or lemon twist.

On Friday night, we had some drinks at home to celebrate my birthday. One of the drinks we had was a cobbler, an old style of drink consisting of liquor or fortified wine such as port or sherry combined with citrus, sugar, and fresh fruit. The English Cobbler has the addition of tea and is lighter on the fresh fruit aspect. Some of the recipes I saw for this drink specified Jamaican rum so I chose our trusty Appleton 12 Year which donated some delightful vanilla notes to the flavor profile. The drink was dry and slightly tart from the black tea and lemon juice, respectively, and the tea functioned well to tie together the rum and lemon flavors. We wondered whether the drink could benefit from a tea that was more exciting than the black one we chose or from a more complex rum such as Zacapa 23. Indeed, the English Cobbler proved to be a refreshing and somewhat sophisticated rum iced tea drink.