One of the world’s greatest revolutions began with the most benign of munitions, a snowball. One of the major events leading up to full scale war, was all about a drink. Yes, ironic I know. But this revolution may be more familiar than you think. The American Dissent is a drink I have made to commemorate the events leading up to the American Revolution.

The American Dissent is composed of 4 ingredients: English Breakfast Tea, Salt, Orange Bitters, and good ol’ Kentucky Bourbon. It’s reminiscent of a Hot Toddy, with a few key differences.

The first ingredient in our drink is English Breakfast Tea. Leading up to the revolution, America was the largest tea drinker in the British empire outside of the isles, consuming up to one million pounds every year! When the Brits placed taxes on the beverage as part of the Townshend Acts succeeding the French Indian war, the Americans were so incensed, they boycotted.

In fact, amidst the anger over the taxes in a war to which the Americans felt the had already contributed their fair share, the events surrounding the Boston Massacre are rather interesting. A lone British soldier patrolling outside the custom house in Boston became the victim of the crowd’s anger when Bostonians descended upon him that evening. They berated him with slurs and eventually unleashed a volley of their first weapons, snowballs. Tensions continued to escalate, soldiers came to the lone patrolman’s aid, and we know the story from there. Five dead.

But it’s crazy to think, a snowball of all things, being the first physical ammunition fired against the British prior to the Revolutionary War.

Our second ingredient here is salt. I’m using this to symbolize where the tea ended up from the Boston Tea Party, at the bottom of the harbor. The first time I experimented with this drink, I brewed the tea in salt water… and yeah, it was awful.

The night of the Tea Party, the Sons of Liberty threw 300 cases of tea overboard, totaling $1 million (in today’s money) in losses for the British East India Trading Co. Crazy! Ben Franklin and George Washington supported the sentiment of the protest, but believing private property to be sacred, condemned the destruction of the tea. Franklin even went so far as to offer the company full compensation for their losses.

The next ingredient is orange bitters. After all, the sentiments between the Brits and the colonists, were rather, oh what’s the word, ah, bitter. So I feel a little added bitters is appropriate for this drink. Also, this will give our cocktail a little more bite as well. Now why orange bitters? Well one citrus was a common ingredient in many 18th century recipes (well not as much as nutmeg but still), and, secondly, because it gives it a nice aromatic note before we drink.

Finally, to really turn this tea into a cocktail, we will add our star ingredient, Kentucky bourbon. After all, what’s a drink about the events leading up to the American Revolution without some American spirit? It will bring a lot of flavor, and a little freedom, to our drink.

To learn more about the Boston Tea Party, check out my deep dive.

In the meantime, enjoy the American Dissent and remember the sacrifices made hundreds of years ago by a group of men in silly outfits who thought tossing tea into a harbor was the best way to fight for liberty.