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While flying to Las Vegas for a friend's bachelorette party, I was page-turning Southwest airline's magazine called "Spirit" when I happened upon a most interesting tea alcoholic drink.  With its main ingredient being tea, naturally I was eager to try this on our trip and figured it would do the ladies a lot of good to loosen up the right way while tanning at the Hard Rock poolside.

The article's title was "Bourbon Slush"  and it was a recipe provided by Fred Thompson, author of Bourbon: 50 Rousing Recipes for a Classic American Spirit.  I will soon discover that Fred properly characterizes this concoction as a "slurpee for grownups."  Fred described the drink as a whiskey sour meets a granita. He promises that it makes a great beach drink.  Hmmm...this sounded too dangerous for a pack of wild and sexy ladies in Sin City.  But why else go to Vegas if we can't walk on the wild side?

So I tore out the article (yes, I'm THAT girl) with the plan of attack that the poolside bartender would make a whole pitcher for us. Needless to say, my high hopes where just that. Of course they couldn't take special orders and didn't have fresh brewed iced tea with concentrated lemonade and orange juice!  

Determined to have this made, I kept the recipe in my bra for safe-keeping and enjoyed it with some friends the following Sunday at home. I must say, slushie and delishious it was! Freshing I might add, but I soon realized that one was more than plenty...

and a good idea to have kept it a secret from the ladies!

Ingredients: (Makes 6 Bourbon Slushes)

2 cups brewed black tea (I used Organic Darjeeling)

1 pint Maker's Mark

2 tablespoons sugar

1 12 ounce can frozen lemonade, concentrate, thawed

16 ounce can frozen orange juice, concentrate, thawed

Chilled lemon-lime soda

Directions:

1. Combine in large metal bowl. Put bowl in freezer, stir with a whisk every two hours until mixture is frozen.

2. Scoop frozen tea into an old-fashioned glass until it's about two-thirds full.

3. Top off with soda without stirring the mix. Serve when soda has turned the frozen tea slushy.

Mint is a refreshing ingredient to any drink on a melting hot day.  In the category of superfoods, mint is a superstar. For centuries now, mint is known for multiple ailments: nausea, headache, acne, digestion, skincare, asthma, fresh breath and so on.  It also grows bountifully in a garden patch all year long.  Combine this verdant herb with black tea and you have yourself a summer power drink. 

Here's a mint infused sun tea recipe that will keep you cool as a cucumber all summer long! 

Garden Mint Sun Tea.

Ingredients:

5 heaping tablespoons of loose leaf black tea (Organic Darjeeling)

8 cups of filtered water

Large glass pitcher with lid

1 cup of fresh garden mint, crushed and thoroughly washed

Lemon rinds

A hot and bright sunny, summer day

Directions:

Combin all ingredients in a glass pitcher and cover with the lid.  Set in sun for 6 to 8 hours. Add desired sweetener if necessary.