Good Stuff: Summer cocktail, Taste of Lebanon, Ellis Island Tea

One good cocktail

Prepare this refreshing cocktail for your end of summer celebration. Ginger Tarragon Gin and Tonic: Combine 2 sprigs fresh tarragon and 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar in cocktail shaker and muddle. Add a handful of ice cubes, 2 ounces fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit, strained, and 2 ounces gin. Shake it up. Fill a tall glass halfway with ice cubes. Add a sprig of tarragon and sliver of grapefruit. Pour contents of shaker into glass. Top off with tonic water. Makes 1 cocktail.

One good event

St. Sharbel Church in Warren hosts its annual Taste of Lebanon Festival on the church grounds Friday through Sunday. Featuring authentic Lebanese cuisine and live English and Arabic entertainment, the event also includes family activities and cultural events and a craft fair. A portion of proceeds benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church is at 31601 Schoenherr, Warren. For festival hours, visit TasteofLebanonFestival.com for information.

One good tea

Detroit resident and Jamaican immigrant Nailah Ellis-Brown has reconnected to the place her ancestors first came when they arrived in America: Ellis Island. Ellis-Brown brews and sells exotic hibiscus tea based on a recipe handed down through the generations from her great-grandfather, Cyril Byron. Ellis Island Tea is a rich, red bottled iced tea with a unique flavor that comes from the infusion of all-natural extracts and botanicals, including hibiscus, rose hips and peppermint. It is a smooth, flavorful Jamaican blend with a kick of citrus. It comes unsweetened or sweetened with pure cane sugar and honey. In addition to Whole Foods, it’s available at Westborn Market, Avalon International Bakery, Goodwells Natural Market and Detroit’s Eastern Market. Its newest locations are in New York at the Statue of Liberty’s Crown Café, Ellis Café, Kiosk Café and the Ellis Island Museum Gift Shop.