Tea in the Sahara (Death & Co. recipe)

Of all the infusions that I've made, I've never considered green tea and coconut infused scotch. But that is what is required for Tea in the Sahara. You need a dry, almost peppery infusion of Famous Grouse to pull this off. So I recommend getting dried coconut, not confectioner's coconut with all the sugar. It will really unbalance a cocktail like this that has no citrus except for the garnish. 

Besides the infusion, Strega is the only other spirit ingredient and honey syrup is the main sweetener. This drink is light but has body from Strega and honey. The scotch burns, but it has picked up earthy nuttiness from the green tea and coconut. (For my tea, I used sensha for its grassy notes.) The lemon coin (a thin slice of pith from the narrowest end of the fruit) hints at teatime with a cocktail that has a lot of exotic pastiche for a scotch drink.

• 1 lemon coin with a bit of pith
• 2 oz. coconut green tea-infused Famous Grouse scotch
• 1 tsp. Strega
• 1 tsp. acacia honey syrup

Squeeze lemon over a mixing glass and drop it in. Add the remaining ingredients and stir with ice. Strain into a double rocks glass with no ice.