El Diablo Con Limón

Ingredients

• 10 lemons
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 ounces brewed black tea, cooled
• 20 ounces silver tequila, such as Cabeza
• 4 1/2 ounces crème de cassis, such as Giffard Cassis Noir De Bourgogne
• 51 ounces chilled seltzer or club soda

Directions

1. Set the lemons out until they lose their chill, then press and roll them on the counter to loosen the peel. Slice them in half and squeeze the juice; transfer the juice to a container with a lid and chill it. Chop the spent rinds into 1-inch pieces. In a large nonreactive mixing bowl, combine the rinds with the sugar, cover the bowl snugly with plastic, and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring about every 20 minutes to move the sugar around.
2. Pour the tea and 13 ounces of the saved lemon juice into the bowl. Mix well, then strain the liquid through a nonreactive fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a glass or ceramic pitcher or punch bowl. Add the tequila and creme de cassis and stir to combine. You can cover and refrigerate the mixture for up to 10 hours at this stage.
3. Just before serving, stir the punch thoroughly, then pour in the seltzer or club soda. Ladle or pour into glasses filled with ice, giving each glass a little stir so the drink softens slightly.