MAPLE TEA-NI

The floral bergamot aroma of Earl Grey tea and the sharp tea tannins are lovely when combined with Sortilège, a unique combination of Canadian whisky lightly sweetened with maple syrup. Serve this drink warm or cold, with a Savoury Maple Biscuit Sandwich (recipe follows)—a new take on teatime!

4 oz boiling water

1 Earl Grey teabag

3 oz Sortilège (LCBO 250134, $33.95) 1 grapefruit, cut in 8 wedges

2 Savoury Maple Biscuit Sandwiches, for garnish

1 In a heatproof measuring cup, pour boiling water over teabag and steep for 4 minutes. Discard teabag.

2 While tea is still warm, add Sortilège. Squeeze juice from grapefruit wedges into mixture, passing it through a fine-strainer or tea strainer to remove pulp. Stir to combine.

3 For a warm drink, pour equal amounts into two teacups, and garnish each with a Savoury Maple Biscuit Sandwich on the cup rim. For a cocktail, cool completely, and pour equal amounts over ice into two rocks glasses, and garnish each with a Savoury Maple Biscuit Sandwich on the glass rim.

Makes 2 drinks

SAVOURY MAPLE BISCUIT SANDWICH

Date and blue cheese are a flavour combo from the heavens, and maple goes beautifully with both. The surprise of biting into what looks like a standard grocery-store sandwich cookie and getting a savoury teatime sandwich is part of the high-low fun of this garnish snack!

2 maple sandwich cookies

1 large or 2 small pitted Medjool dates 1 tbsp (15 mL) soft crumbled blue cheese

1 Carefully open maple sandwich cookies and scrape off the maple-cream filling. Discard filling and retain four individual biscuits.

2 Chop the date into small pieces. Using a muddler or mortar and pestle, grind the date into a soft paste. You should have about 1 tbsp (15 mL) date paste. Add blue cheese and cream together until combined to form a filling. Use a spoon to form filling into two small balls.

3 Place a ball of filling on two of the biscuits. Cover with the other two biscuits. Use a paring knife to scrape away any excess filling from cookie edges. 4 Wet the tip of paring knife and gently cut a slit into each biscuit in the same location, on both sides of the sandwich. (Some moisture on the tip of the knife helps the biscuit crumble away instead of breaking and splitting.)

Makes 2 garnishes