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Sun Steeped Nettle Tea Whiskey with Spruce Tip Syrup


Last night we enjoyed the most delicious cocktail from my foraging galley. Smooth, sweet, golden and woodsy, this beverage will not disappoint.

Cruising and living aboard a boat, you've got to be smart about your food and beverage costs as well as the amount of space they take up—so finding free, ethically foraged ingredients on the go is a bonus. The syrup and tea I used here have other uses too, so your time preparing the ingredients isn't all in the name of a few cocktails. The tea is nutritive on its own. Our toddler Jude LOVED the spruce tip syrup as much as he enjoyed foraging for the tips in the woods. "More tip-top syrup please" he keeps saying! A spoonful in a glass of milk has Jude swooning.

The mixers in this cocktail were all made aboard from spring time ingredients readily found in the San Juan Islands. If foraging intimidates you, spruce tips in particular are a great way to start! They are probably in your backyard. Spruce tip syrup is made from (you guessed it) spruce tips—that oh-so vibrant green, soft and supple tip found at the end of each limb of a spruce tree. We picked up ours on Sucia Island, many of which we actually just found on the ground from a huge wind storm the night prior. I used this recipe for the syrup. It's insanely easy. This stuff is liquid magic. Can't wait to try it on some sweedish pancakes.

I made the sun tea from store-bought dried nettle. Nettle is everywhere in the pacific northwest though. It's a little more tricky to harvest, but it's also a great gateway drug to foraging. If you live in Seattle, it's everywhere along the bluffs of Discovery Park. It's one of a dozen or so plants that toddler Jude can already identify in the woods, because it does sting. It also happens to be insanely good for you when prepared right. Sounds like it might not mesh well for some folks sensitive to allergens, so be sure to research that.

After a quick search online, I found this helpful info on collecting and drying nettle from Wild Foods and Medicines:

"Just in case you have not encountered nettles… they will sting you! You can use gloves or scissors to harvest. Once cooked or dried, nettles completely lose their sting. They are most potent when gathered in early spring before flowering, usually from March-May. To dry nettles, bundle them and hang them upside down in a dark dry place, or place them in a paper bag and rotate them every few days until dry. Use gloves when you strip the leaves off the stem. Store in a dry place like a glass jar, away from sunlight. In late summer or early fall the stems are gathered and made into a strong fiber."

Or! Find some already dried nettle from your local natural foods store. Or! Use another tea you have in your pantry. From herbal mint to Lipton, I don't think you can really go wrong here in the sun-steeped-tea department for this cocktail.

If made from scratch, this cocktail takes a couple of days to prep (haha, which I know is laughable for some of you!) But it's soooooo smooth and woodsy, I think it was well worth the journey. On our cruising budget, we've been liking big plastic jugs of cheap Canadian whiskey while sailing the San Juan's. There's obviously no shortage of excellent whiskey's out there though!

 

Sun Steeped Nettle Tea Whiskey with Spruce Tip Syrup

Yields one16oz beverage, on ice

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 shot glass of cheap whiskey (or whatever your brand is!)

- 1 shot of spruce tip syrup (less or more, depending on how sweet you like it)

- 8 oz sun brewed nettle tea

- Lots of ice!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1 | Sun steep a large amount of nettle tea (or other tea of choice.) I put about 1 cup of dried nettle tea in a glass growler, filled with water and steeped it in the sun for 24 hours. Whichever tea you use, I recommend sun steeping for a smoother and more earthy taste, which pairs well with the other ingredients.

Step 2 | Make your spruce tip syrup. So easy! I steeped mine overnight to maximize flavor. I also added a few rose tips which were readily available along the trail on Sucia Island. Not necessary, but a nice touch!

Step 3 | Fill a 16 oz mason jar, or cocktail vessel of choice, with ice.

Step 4 | Pour in 1 shot of whiskey.

Step 5 | Pour in 1 half (or more) shot of spruce tip syrup.

Step 6 | Fill the remainder of the glass with sun steeped tea.

Step 6 | Mix and garnish with a spruce tip, or mint leaf, or whatever's clever! You could even save some of the sugar soaked spruce tips for garnish (dang, wish I would have thought of that before tossing!) A fresh spruce tip for garnish would also be lovely.

We're way better at sailing than we are at selfies! Looking happy, but a little sheepish, during happy hour here on Spencer's Spit. It's a holiday weekend and there are loads of boats about!

We'll be in the San Juan's for at least another couple of weeks while we hand craft new chain plates for our rigging, and install a new storm jib (all sober jobs, of course.) This is a great time to visit the islands, so let us know if you are in the area, or if you try this recipe out. Would love to hear from you!


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