Long Island Iced Tea Recipe
Five spirits, lemon and cola. Tastes like tea, hits like a bar tab.
The Long Island Iced Tea has no tea in it. Five white spirits, lemon and cola combine into one of the strongest long drinks on any menu.
Ingredients
- 15 ml Vodka
- 15 ml Tequila
- 15 ml White rum
- 15 ml Triple sec
- 15 ml Gin
- 25 ml Fresh lemon juice
- 30 ml Sugar syrup
- 20 ml Cola To top up
Garnish: Lemon wedge
How to Make a Long Island Iced Tea
- Add all spirits, triple sec, lemon juice and sugar syrup to a highball glass filled with ice.
- Top with cola.
- Stir gently.
- Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Best Bottles for a Long Island Iced Tea in India
Vodka component
Rum component
Gin component
Tequila component
Prices are the lowest listed India price and vary by state. Check each spirit page for the full state-wise table.
Tips for a Better Long Island Iced Tea
- Treat it with respect. With five spirits, it is stronger than it tastes.
- Use fresh lemon, not bottled.
- Top with only a splash of cola for colour, not a full glass.
About the Long Island Iced Tea
The Long Island Iced Tea contains no tea. It gets its colour from a splash of cola and its name from the fact that it looks like a glass of iced tea.
The best-documented claim belongs to Robert "Rosebud" Butt, who says he created it in 1972 for a cocktail competition at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York, in which every entry had to include triple sec. A rival story credits "Old Man" Bishop, who is said to have mixed a similar multi-spirit drink in the 1920s in a neighbourhood called Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee.
It spread through American bars and nightclubs in the late 1970s and 1980s and is still one of the best-known cocktails in the world. It is also one of the strongest. Five pours add up to 75ml of spirits, roughly double a standard mixed drink.
Long Island Iced Tea Variations
- Long Beach Iced Tea: cranberry juice in place of cola.
- Tokyo Iced Tea: melon liqueur and lemon-lime soda in place of cola.
- Adios (Blue Long Island): blue curaçao and lemon-lime soda.
- Texas Tea: add 15ml of bourbon.
- Lighter Long Island: 10ml of each spirit, topped with more cola in a taller glass.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in a Long Island Iced Tea?
How strong is a Long Island Iced Tea?
Is there tea in a Long Island Iced Tea?
Why is a Long Island Iced Tea so strong?
How can you make it less strong?
Who invented the Long Island Iced Tea?
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