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Signature Cocktail

London
Fog

Bergamot, black tea gin, wildflower honey, steamed milk

The Concept

The London Fog is a cafe staple: Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, vanilla, honey. We wanted to bring it into the cocktail format without losing what makes it a cafe drink.

The logic is simple. Earl Grey is black tea with bergamot. Italicus is a bergamot liqueur. Infuse gin with black tea and you have the tea half. Put them together and you have the flavor of Earl Grey in spirit form. Wildflower honey syrup in place of vanilla. Steamed milk on top.

This one sits outside our coffee work, but it fits the same idea: cafe drinks translated into cocktail format, with the same attention to why things work.

Ingredients

  • •1.25 oz Italicus (bergamot liqueur)
  • •0.5 oz black tea gin (see sub-recipe)
  • •0.5 oz wildflower honey syrup (3:1 honey to water)
  • •0.25 oz water (proofing agent)
  • •3 drops 20% saline solution
  • •3.5 oz whole milk, measured pre-steam

Method

  1. 1Combine Italicus, black tea gin, honey syrup, water, and saline in a vessel and stir to combine
  2. 2Strain through a fine mesh strainer
  3. 3Hold hot if batching for bar service (sous vide or double boiler)
  4. 4Measure 3.5 oz of whole milk before steaming — steaming adds volume, so measure cold
  5. 5Steam milk to 140–150°F with a tight, velvety microfoam
  6. 6Pour the spirit base into your cup, then pour steamed milk over it
  7. 7Garnish with dried lavender

Components

Black Tea Gin

  1. 1Add 20g of black tea to 1 liter of gin
  2. 2Agitate every 15 minutes for 2 hours
  3. 3Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth
  4. 4Bottle and store at room temperature

Wildflower Honey Syrup (3:1)

  1. 1Combine 3 parts wildflower honey with 1 part warm water
  2. 2Stir until fully dissolved — do not heat, it can cook off delicate floral notes
  3. 3Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks

On Proofing & Milk Stability

The water in this recipe is doing a specific job: proofing down the ABV before it meets the milk.

Steamed milk is unstable around high-proof alcohol. The alcohol disrupts the protein structure of the milk, causing it to curdle on contact. Diluting the spirit base with a small amount of water brings the overall ABV down enough that the milk stays intact when poured.

Italicus is already relatively low proof at 20% ABV. The black tea gin is standard gin proof, around 40%. Together at these volumes the blend sits in a range where splitting is unlikely, but the water gives you an extra margin. If you swap in a higher-proof gin or scale the recipe up, keep this in mind and adjust the water accordingly.