Ice Pick

Named after the bar tool fabled to be the perfect murder weapon and other such dated nonsense, the Ice Pick is one of those inevitable cocktails that results from having two perfectly mixable ingredients that feel a little incomplete by themselves. When do you see someone having iced tea without a slice of lemon, or a glass of vodka without some juice or an olive? Never. So the Ice Pick really is a brute tool that brings together iced tea and vodka, which is, incidentally, a great way to disguise your drinking during a lunch meeting.

Try using an unusual black tea if you want to class this drink up a bit. Here I have Republic Of Tea's Golden Yunan tea. The gold color leaves change to red-brown when they are steeped and the tea is rich and malty, not nearly as bitter as most bargain iced tea brands. Steep the tea in near boiling water and allow it to cool (refrigerate for a half hour if necessary). The mix to your hearts content.

The original recipe calls for a slice of lime squeezed into the glass. But that is taking into account that this recipe predates the 80s' and fine tea shops in the U.S. Iced tea continues to be made with horrendous blends of poor quality tea. Nowadays, if you use a good tea, you don't want to cover it up with citrus. I found that two  lemon wheel slices shoved down into the glass give plenty of flavor without detracting from quality iced tea that I chose. When you use cheap ingredients, I guess you have to do what you have to do to make up for your bad decisions. Good tea at least prevents you from turning this drink into a bad decision.

• 2 oz. vodka
• iced tea
• 2 lemon wheel slices

Pour vodka in a highball glass full of ice. Top with tea and garnish with lemon wheels by shoving them down into the glass.