Tea Time - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the Ice Ring
1 quart water
4 black tea bags
1/4 cup sugar
6 cinnamon sticks
5 lemons, feather peels
For the Simple Syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
For the Punch
750 milliliters bottle gin
1 ounce cranberry bitters, prefer Fee Brothers
16 ounces lemon juice
16 ounces simple syrup
8 ounces water
orange wedge, manicured for garnish

Preparation

For the Ice Ring:
In a small pan/tea pot heat 1 quart water to a boil. Add 4 black tea bags. Let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Refrigerate until very cold.
Fill mini cake molds with a small amount of chilled water. Layer in cracked cinnamon sticks, and feathered lemon peels spaced equally around the bottom of each mold. Let freeze for 1 hour or until frozen to hold inclusions in place. Fill with chilled tea to top of molds. Freeze overnight.
For the Simple Syrup:
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil and reduce to simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Will keep refrigerated for one month.
For the Punch:
Stir together punch ingredients in a punch bowl. Unmold ice ring by quickly dipping into warm water and inverting Float ice ring in punch.
Ladle into tea cup. Garnish with channel peeler manicured orange wedges and serve.