vesica wabbit

1 1/2 oz Vodka (Vesica)
1 tsp Wu Wei Tea (dry)
1 1/2 oz Lillet (Cocchi Americano)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Add tea and vodka to a mixing glass and let sit for about a minute or two. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Last week for Mixoloseum's second anniversary of Thursday Drink Night, the theme was "Latest Find." I was going to do something with the bottle of Coruba that Andrea scored out in Indiana when she was visiting her family; however, samples of Vesica Vodka arrived earlier in the day and I decided to give it a go. Vesica is a Polish potato spirit, and when I tried it, there were no off aromas and it had a clean flavor and a crisp bite. While it lacked much character, it was pretty well distilled and seemed to be a good buy at a price point of around $10 a bottle. Regardless, she was my latest acquisition and I accepted the challenge to create a recipe for the drink night's theme.
The drink I created was citrussy but had some spice to it from the bitters and the rapid tea infusion. The rapid tea infusion during the shake was an idea that I garnered while hosting the tea-themed Mixology Monday back in January and it worked rather well with the Wu Wei tisane. Another herbal or perhaps green tea could work well here; however, it would probably lack the attractive reddish hue that the Wu Wei's hibiscus donates. For a name, I gave a nod toward the spirit the Liquor Fairy gave me and to the red-dressed dame of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.