East India Company’s First Flush Iced Tea cocktail launch at Rosewood London

Two quintessentially British brands have collaborated this summer to create a fresh and exciting cocktail.

The East India Company has partnered with Rosewood London to make a delicious seasonal drink that highlights the best of what both historic brands have to offer.

The cocktail, First Flush Iced Tea, is subtle, complex, sophisticated and ridiculously refreshing, it’s possible to really taste the thought and precision behind it. Made with EIC’s sought-after and luxurious Darjeeling First Flush Tea and London Dry Gin, the drink will be served until the end of September at the iconic Rosewood London’s gin bar – home to over 600 different gins.

Concocted by head bartender Eleonora Biason, the tipple cleverly combines the uniquely fragranced tea, delicate botanicals of the gin, rose cordial to complement the Darjeeling’s floral bouquet and Merchant’s Heart Pink Peppercorn tonic water. This surprising mix makes for a balanced and thirst-quenching cocktail. The rose-coloured beverage is perfectly finished with a dash of ginger bitters and lavender, garnished with rose petals and ginger candy.

Master Lalith Lenadora commented on the drink: “The East India Company Darjeeling First Flush is one of our most precious teas. It is a delicately fresh, nuanced tea, picked under my close instruction from the Puttabong Garden in the Darjeeling region in the foothills of the Himalayas.”

Commercial director of the East India Company David Oakley added: “We felt sure this high-altitude tea, with its wonderful fragrance and touch of sweetness, would make an aromatic addition to a refreshing summer cocktail. We challenged Rosewood London, renowned for its Gin Bar, to create the recipe for a First Flush cocktail.”

In the delightful setting of Holborn Dining Room’s Gin Bar, this intriguing cocktail is now available at £16.

The East India Company London Dry Gin is available online and from the brand’s Conduit Street store, priced at £40 for 70cl and The East India Company First Flush Darjeeling is available at £25 for 40g.

Lilly Subbotin