Long Island Iced Tea: Pleasantly Potent
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Leave your jaded impressions of Long Island Iced Tea behind. Not only is the potent potable popular with 20-somethings looking for a quick buzz, but this Long Island Iced Tea recipe tastes great if you’re in your 30s or beyond.
If you have a Long Island Iced Tea story, it probably has a happy start and a funny yet embarrassing (at the time) ending. It’s not that the Long Island Iced Tea is a bad drink. The problem arises from the summer sipper’s pleasant drinkability. In other words, some people underestimate the intoxication potential of the cocktail’s alcohol-heavy ingredient list.
The good news is that you can now create a new Long Island Iced Tea story when you craft the classic cocktail at home. And this story’s ending will likely be just as happy as its beginning.
Discover more refreshing summertime sippers.
What Is Long Island Iced Tea?
Long Island Iced Tea is one of the strongest classic cocktails we’ve ever crafted. It’s also a cocktail with a misleading name since tea isn’t one of its many ingredients. Instead, its recipe includes five different liquors (gin, rum, tequila, triple sec and vodka in a 1:1:1:1:1 ratio) plus freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup and cola.
It’s the kind of drink in which a little bit goes a long way. In other words, if you choose to imbibe Long Island Iced Tea at the bar, you’ll want to leave your car keys at home and take a cab or Uber home at the end of the night. Better yet, drink Long Island Iced Tea at home!
Fun Fact
Long Island Iced Tea got its name based on its appearance, which happens to resemble iced tea.
History of the Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail
While the Long Island Iced Tea cocktail’s classic recipe doesn’t include tea, iced or otherwise, its history most likely started in Long Island. However, cocktail historians don’t agree on when and where that actually occurred.
Some historians attribute the cocktail’s creation to a bartender in New York’s Long Island during the 1970s while others go back further to Prohibition-era bartenders in Tennessee’s Long Island during the 1920s.
Regardless of when and where the first Long Island Iced Tea debuted, there’s no debate that the sweet cocktail packs a potent punch – especially when it’s served in jumbo pint glasses or in crowd-pleasing pitchers.
Ingredients
Unlike many classic cocktails which are crafted with two or three ingredients, the Long Island Iced Tea recipe requires the following laundry list of ingredients:
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
While this ingredient list is long, you likely have most of the ingredients in your liquor cabinet or pantry. If not, there’s no need to buy expensive liquors.
True Story: We raided our liquor cabinet to craft this Long Island Iced Tea with Citadelle gin, Bacardi rum, Absolut vodka, Jose Cuervo tequila and Cointreau triple sec.
How to Craft a Long Island Iced Tea
The most difficult part of crafting a Long Island Iced Tea is gathering the cocktail’s many ingredients. Once you complete this task, the first step is to fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
Measure the gin, rum, tequila, vodka, triple sec, simple syrup and freshly squeezed lemon juice. We like to use a Japanese jigger to measure the liquors and a miniature angled measuring cup to measure the simple syrup and lemon juice.
Immediately pour each measured liquid into the ice-filled glass.
Top off the glass with your favorite cola. We’re fans of Coca-Cola but Pepsi or RC Cola work well in this recipe too.
Gently stir with a bar spoon until the ingredients are combined and chilled.
Garnish with a lemon wedge or lemon wheel.
Pro Tip
Slice the lemon wedge or wheel before you juice the lemon.
Serve with a straw and start sipping with caution. As noted above, this cocktail, despite its signature sweet flavor, packs a potent punch.
Variations
Although the Long Island Iced Tea is an official IBA (International Bartenders Association) cocktail, you can craft the cocktail to match your taste preference. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Discover 10 essential bar tools for the home mixologist.
Long Island Iced Tea Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 ounce gin (dry)
- 1/2 ounce rum (white)
- 1/2 ounce tequila (silver)
- 1/2 ounce vodka
- 1/2 ounce triple sec
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 ounce cola
- 1 wedge or wheel lemon (garnish)
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
- Pour the liquors (gin, rum, tequila, vodka and triple sec), simple syrup and lemon juice into the glass.
- Top with cola.
- Gently stir.
- Garnish with a lemon wedge or wheel.
Notes
- Serve with a straw.
- Drink in moderation. The Long Island Iced Tea is an especially potent potable.
- You can multiply the recipe ingredients by four or six to craft a pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea.
Nutrition
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
Long Island Iced Tea is a classic cocktail crafted with five different liquors plus lemon juice, simple syrup and cola.
The Long Island Iced Tea cocktail was probably invented in New York’s Long Island or Tennessee’s Long Island.
Gin, White Rum, Silver Tequila, Triple Sec, Vodka, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Cola, Lemon Wedge or Wheel (garnish) and Ice Cubes
The Long Island Iced Tea cocktail is typically stirred, not shaken.
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