occam's razor

So the flecks... They are light, hard to tell the color because the mix is so dark. it looks like tiny flakes of something. Not a lot of them admittedly. I cant photograph them as it is hard to focus but I have managed to get a photo to show you the sediment (attached). It obviously mixes when shook... Maybe this sediment are the flecks when mixed?? The first photo is the colour when shook and those are bubbles not the "flecks"... You can see it goes a muddy brown. The other two are obvious. At this point let me state that I was scrupulous when I made this and throughout, including sterilizing the bottle etc. Although it did have a reusable cork stopper which I did was thoroughly.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. Maybe I dont understand what you mean by solid ingredients but it was only tea and sugar and bay leaf... There is actually a combination of sediment and flecks of something that wasn't there when I bottled it. The sediment doesn't really concern me its the flecks. One of my concerns since trying to diagnose on the net (thanks Google!!) is that I cold brewed the tea and it was whole loose leaf, could that of been a breeding ground? Anything would have been killed during the syrup boiling process surely? Because I have a few bottles and wanted to give as presents then I need to be sure... I am sort of sure it is fine but not sure enough if you get what I mean. I cant imagine anything nasty can live in a sugary alcoholic environment?? If anyone else can confirm that would be great. Regards Mr Paranoid!

Ha... I will do just that!

Thanks Alex... I appreciate it, hopefully said chemists will chime in to confirm your thoughts.

Hi All, Here in the UK (for everyone outside) they have a TV show with a drinks/cocktail segment. I saw a cocktail that I wanted to make for Christmas. The Viceroy Old Fashioned - Here is the recipe: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/su... However on the actual show he explained how he makes it and its slightly more in-depth. Basically he makes a syrup with Darjeeling Green tea, Bay Leaves, Dark brown Sugar and Orange Bitters. Pours it over some Woodford Reserve and lets it steep for 3 months. I decided to have a go at the longer, aged version. I made a 2:1 ratio syrup from slightly different ingredients as I felt I wanted more of a smoky darker taste: Cold brewed Oolong Loose leaf Green Tea, Unrefined Molasses Sugar Fresh Bay Leaves This made a very glossy thick syrup. I mixed (to taste) an amount of this to a bottle of Islay 10 year Single Malt and a dash of Angostura Bitters. It tastes delicious. My issue (apologies for not being succinct but I didn't want to leave anything out) is that I went to try some yesterday which has been sitting for about a month now and it has a sediment which looks like mud in wine and some flecks of "stuff" in it. Do you think this might be spoiled or dangerous to drink? I am not in anyway a professional but I always worry about botulism etc (dont laugh or judge me). My first thought was it might be the sugar crystallizing. But then I wondered if it might be bacteria or mold. Should I have kept it in the fridge because of the tea and sugar? I still have some of the syrup in the fridge and that looks fine. I just assumed alcohol wouldn't allow bacteria to form. I am giving these as presents so I dont want to make anyone ill?? Any help would be most appreciated. Regards