Tonight we helped our friend Jeffrey Lorien of Zhi Tea celebrate his third anniversary. Though he does not himself partake, we celebrate with cocktails, and so that is what we made. We thought we were very fancy since we spent a long time playing with these drinks, until we looked at the results and realized that we basically doctored a Margarita and a Daiquiri, in reverse. One of the teas we selected, Lapsang Souchong, smells like beef jerky or leather, and I thought Joe did a great job taming this beast. See recipes below. I swear to G-d we weren't trying to make a smokey tea margarita, but that's what we came up with. And it was good.

Note: Crappy iPhone photographs by yours truly

Joe behind the bar, modeling his Texans for Gun Control Button

Jeffrey jammed with one of his homeys--when it's your party, you can do whatever the F--- you want to

The highlight of my night (with no offense to Jeffrey's lovely playing) was the Best Wurst trailer parked in the back. The only thing better than Best Wurst is FREE Best Wurst, a total fantasy that I never thought I'd actually get to entertain.

Firepit
1.5 oz Tequila
1.5 oz strong-brewed Lapsang Souchong
.5 Paula's Texas Orange
.75 Fresh-squeezed lime juice
.5 simple syrup
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and shake vigorously to chill, strain onto fresh ice and serve

Julius
1 oz white rum
1.5 oz strong-brewed Coconut Assam
.5 simple syrup
.25 Fresh-squeezed lime juice
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and shake vigorously to chill, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and serve