Alissa and I have both been under the weather for the past week and with HORNE, our friend’s wedding and day-to-day life, we haven’t had an abundance of time to take care of ourselves. The one thing we did do, which really helped, was drink a lot of green tea with honey. So, when our sister, Jillian, told us she recently had an amazing drink that prominently featured green tea and honey we thought sharing the recipe with everyone would be the perfect way to pay homage to the multitudes of people suffering through cold and flu season.

[photo by Jonathan Levitt for the Boston Globe]

This martini hails from the lovely city of Portland, ME and can be found at the bar of the wonderful restaurant Evangeline. Evangeline is a French inspired restaurant with a seasonally driven, daily changing menu. Stephen, the general manager, created this drink when he was inspired to use Italian Plums he found at a local market. As with all of his creations, he wanted this drink to be fun, creative and approachable. Most importantly it had to go well with the French cuisine while still standing on its own as a cocktail.

CLICK HERE for the full drink recipe after the jump!

The methodology for this drink is slightly more complicated than normal but the end result is incredibly tasty and unique.

Begin by making the green tea and honey simple syrup. You can make the syrup ahead of time and refrigerate it for later. 4 cups of syrup will make approximately 32 drinks.

Green Tea and Honey Simple Syrup:

2 Cups Loose Organic Green Tea (an equal mix of Japanese Green Tea, Assam Green Tea & Darjeeling Green Tea combined with 2 tablespoons of Organic White Tea is the preferred mix but any Green Tea will do)

4 Cups Filtered Water

1 Cup Organic Wildflower Honey

Syrup Methodology:

Bring water to 190 degrees. Add tea, stir and maintain 190 degrees for 5 minutes (be VERY careful not to go above 190 degrees or bad things start to happen with the flavors). Remove from heat and allow to steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard tealeaves. Add honey and mix well making sure not to create froth.

Drink Ingredients:

1 Whole Italian Prune Plum or ½ Fresh Red Plum

1 oz Green Tea and Honey Syrup

1.75 oz Grey Goose La Poire Vodka

.5 oz Citrus Vodka

Carambola (Star Fruit) for garnish

Drink Methodology:

Muddle plum with Green Tea and Honey Syrup in the bottom of a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice. Add Grey Goose La Poire and Citrus Vodka. Shake vigorously and strain through a small mesh strainer into a martini glass of your choice (we actually used a champagne glass from Bottega Del Vino). Garnish with carambola (star fruit) on rim. Enjoy!!

Until Next Month, Alissa & Ryan