Yes, Darling Recipe

Combine 1 cup turbinado sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the lemon zest. Stir until sugar fully dissolves and mixture comes to a gentle simmer, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, steeping the zest for 15–20 minutes. Strain out zest and transfer syrup to a clean bottle. Refrigerate. Yields approximately 1 1/2 cups; use 0.5 oz per cocktail.

Cold-brew the Gong Fu Darjeeling: place 2 tsp tea leaves in a jar with 8 oz cold filtered water. Steep in the refrigerator for 6–8 hours (or overnight). Strain through a fine mesh and reserve. Concentrate if needed so that 0.5 oz of this brew yields noticeable tea aroma and flavor.

Make the smoked tea rinse: put 1 tsp smoked black tea leaves into a heatproof vessel. Pour 2 oz boiling water over leaves and briefly let steep for 30 seconds to 1 minute to awaken smoke without extracting heavy bitterness. Strain the steep into a small shallow stainless steel or glass dish (discard spent leaves). Let the hot liquid cool 20–30 seconds so it's warm but not scalding.

Rinse the chilled serving glass: swirl 0.25 oz (approx. 7–8 ml) of the warmed smoked tea in the chilled cocktail glass, coating the interior, then discard excess (or blot with a clean cloth). This imparts a delicate smoked-tea perfume to the glass. Alternatively, lightly spray or wave the warmed leaves under the glass to add smoke if preferred.

Chill glass

Place a rocks or coupe glass in the freezer or fill with ice and water while preparing the cocktail so it is well chilled.

Add the gin (2 oz), Dolin Genepy (0.5 oz), fresh lemon juice (0.5 oz), citrus turbinado syrup (0.5 oz), cold-brewed Gong Fu Darjeeling (0.5 oz), and caraway bitters (3 dashes) into a mixing glass or shaker.

Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir briskly for 18–25 seconds until well chilled and slightly diluted. Because Genepy and tea flavors are delicate, stirring preserves clarity and silkiness.

Remove the chilled glass from freezer (or discard the ice water) and perform the smoked tea rinse described above if not done already. Strain the cocktail over a single large clear ice cube in the rinsed glass (or straight into the chilled coupe).

Express a lemon twist over the drink to release oils, rub it on the rim, then drop as garnish.

Serve immediately. The resulting cocktail should balance herbaceous alpine notes from the Genepy, citrus and turbinado sweetness, anise/caraway lift from the bitters, and a subtle floral-smoky Darjeeling undercurrent.