spy in the house of love

2 oz Aviation Gin
1/2 oz Lychee-Black Tea Syrup (*)
1/4 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a glass, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Steep 4 tsp lychee-black tea leaves in 8 oz boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain and dissolve in an equal volume of sugar. The tea can be found in decent Asian supermarkets such as Reliable Market in Union Square, Somerville, MA, or on Amazon such as this one (same brand I used).
For my second drink at the Cocktail Lab at Earl's Prudential, I wanted to utilize an unique tropical tea that I found at a local Asian market that combined lychee flavor and black tea. To bolster the fruitiness and round out the tea and tropical notes, I added Cointreau to the mix, and balanced the syrup and liqueur's sweetness with lemon. After trying a few spirits, gin seemed to allow the tea syrup flavors to shine through the best. For a name, I continued on with my Anais Nin theme and opted for her novella Spy in the House of Love.