Name: The Earl of Orange - A Bourbon Cocktail
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Bourbon
Ingredients: 2 ounces bourbon; 1.25 ounce spiced orange syrup; 1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice; 1 ounce chilled Earl Grey Tea; 2 dashes citrus bitters; orange twist for garnish; 1 whole star anise; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 cup water; 1 cup sugar; peels of 1 orange; 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 6-8 whole cloves

Jump to Recipe

Last Updated on October 10, 2023 by Leah Hall

Citrus season is the best season, and we highlight that with these tea cocktails!

December is one of our favorite times of the year as cocktail bloggers, because it officially is the start of citrus season! Fresh citrus starts appearing in stores and finding its way into our cocktails. With a bag of fresh oranges in our kitchen, and Christmas coming up, our Earl of Orange cocktail is a perfect sipping orange liqueur cocktail for the season!

This post contains affiliate links for products that we think you as readers might find useful, and we make commission off of these! For more details about our affiliates, click our Disclosure and Contacts Page.

Rocks Glasses / Cinnamon Sticks

Earl Grey Cocktail

In many families, giving oranges as a gift at Christmas is part of their family tradition. This hearkens back to the gold, spices and gifts of the Three Kings and the gold that Saint Nick left in people’s stockings. We wanted to capture some of that wonderful flavor of oranges and spice for our Earl of Orange tea cocktails.

Likewise we thought a spiced orange syrup would be the perfect starting point.

Star Anise / Cloves

Our spiced orange syrup is a delicious combination of sweet and spice. Made with fresh orange zest and fresh squeezed orange juice, there is a full bold burst of orange flavor. To bring a nice bit of holiday spice, we added in some traditional Mulling Spice, cinnamon, clove and star anise.

The combination of spice and citrus makes for a complex sweet syrup that has an incredible perfume as well.

What Ingredients are Needed for the Tea Cocktails?

Spiced Orange Syrup
- Cloves
- Orange Peels
- Orange Juice
- Sugar
- Water
- Cinnamon
- Star Anise
Earl of Orange Cocktail
- Earl Grey Tea
- Orange Juice
- Bourbon
- Citrus Bitters
- Spiced Orange Syrup

Bourbon is a wonderful spirit for the winter as it is one of those drinks that warms the body and soul. Bourbon also just happens to pair up really well with orange and spice, so a healthy dram was just what the doctor ordered for this Earl Grey cocktail. Bringing a caramel sweetness and hints of the same spices as our spiced orange syrup, the bourbon just enhanced the festive feel of the spiced orange syrup.

What Other Flavors Did We Use?

We needed a way to bring a little balance to the Earl of Orange and temper the sweetness of the spiced orange syrup and bourbon. Rather than go sour, we decided to bring in a little bitterness to the party. Not wanting to lose the bright orange flavor we had, we turned to Earl Grey tea which is made from black tea flavored with bergamot oil which is made from the rind of the bitter orange.

The black tea of the Earl Grey brings a pleasant herbal bitterness that balanced the sweet with hint of bitter while adding another layer of orange flavor.

If You Are Looking for More Bourbon, Try These Recipes!

The Earl of Orange is a wonderful sipping cocktail full of the flavors of the Holidays, full of bright orange and festive spice. Hints of orange and spice tempt the taste buds and fill your nose with a rich perfume. It feels like Christmas. We hope the Earl of Orange tea cocktails will find a way to your holiday table!

Cheers!

Also, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and tag #gastronomcocktails so we can see all the wonderful recipes YOU recreate from this site!

You can also subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe again!

Like this recipe? Try these below, too!

Blood Orange Sidecar Cocktail

The Scofflaw Cocktail

Other Bourbon and Orange Cocktails

Bourbon Orange Smash – Beautiful Booze
Bourbon Manhattan – Inspired Taste

Other Earl Grey Cocktails

Earl Grey Tea Cocktail – Sugar and Charm
Earl Grey Martini – Olivia’s Cuisine
Earl Grey French 75 – Cookie and Kate
Earl Grey Cocktail – Tara Teaspoon

The Earl of Orange - A Bourbon Cocktail

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

A delightful combination of Earl Grey tea, spiced orange syrup and bourbon in this cocktail.

Ingredients

Earl of Orange Cocktail

2 ounces bourbon
1.25 ounce spiced orange syrup
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1 ounce chilled Earl Grey Tea
2 dashes citrus bitters
orange twist for garnish

Spiced Orange Syrup

1 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
peels of 1 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
6-8 whole cloves

Instructions

For the Cocktail

Add all ingredients into the cocktail shaker.

Fill shaker with ice.

Shake and strain into a rocks glass over ice.

Express the oils of the orange peel onto the top of the cocktail.

Cheers!

For the Spiced Orange Syrup

Place sugar, water and orange juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

While mixture is heating, zest an orange into the saucepan.

Add spices into the mixture.

Once it's boiling, remove from heat and allow mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the orange peels, but leave the spices for 10 more minutes.

Once cool, strain the syrup into an airtight glass jar and store in the fridge.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 26mgCarbohydrates: 32.7gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 2.4gProtein: 0.2g

Interested in stocking your own home bar? Make sure to see our favorites at our Amazon Store!

If you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and of course free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all the recipes delivered to your inbox when we post), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

Gastronomblog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

megiswell

Tuesday 13th of December 2016

Really, such a genius recipe! Earl Grey Tea would go great with bourbon. I can't wait to try this.

The 'Noms.

Saturday 17th of December 2016

Thanks so much! We thought it was a great combo!

Jeff the Chef

That drink sounds delicious.

Thanks! Cheers!

Heather with WELLFITandFED

Monday 12th of December 2016

This sounds really interesting. I might need to try this one on my hubbie. He loves Bourbon!

Thanks! Hope you try it out!

Ali

Love the combination of spices and orange for the simple syrup. This looks so yummy! Maybe a silly question, but how do you express the oil from the orange peel over the cocktail? Just squeezing it or heating it up?

Thanks! We thought it went very well together! Just squeeze the peel over, and you should be good!

Summer Telban (@SummerTelban)

Totally need to make this!

You do! Cheers!