The Long Island Ice Tea Recipe

Posted in Gin, Liquers, Rum, Tequila, Vodka on March 3, 2014

Despite its name, the Long Island Ice Tea has nothing to do with the tea. It doesn’t even contain any tea at all!, so the name probably comes from the fact that it resembles the color of the ice tea. The history of this cocktail is pretty controversial and there is no consensus regarding who or when invented it. Some say that the Long Island Ice Tea can be attributed to Robert Butt who invented in in the 70s. Others claim that the cocktail is a lot older and it was first created in the 20s by someone living in Long Island.

The Long Island Ice Tea recipe is very easy to keep in mind. The drink basically combines equal parts of gin, vodka, rum, tequila and triple sec. These are mixed with a larger amount of sour mix and with a dash of cola which is responsible for the “misleading” color that makes us think about tea. At first there were only four ingredients in equal parts and the triple sec was added later on. However, the most popular version nowadays includes all five.

As is the case with numerous popular cocktails, there are plenty of variations for the Long Island Ice Tea. Some recipes replace the sour mix with fresh lemon juice and others use ice tea instead of cola. However, most of the versions don’t include tea at all. Sometimes tequila is replaced with brandy by some bartenders.

Unlike other highball drinks, the Long Island Ice Tea is notoriously strong.

How to Prepare the Long Island Ice Tea

You need several ingredients, but it is very easy to remember the correct dosage for each:

• ½ oz. of triple sec.
• ½ oz. of vodka.
• ½ oz. gin.
• ½ oz. of tequila.
• ½ oz. of rum.
• 1 oz. of sour mix.
• A dash of cola.
• A lemon twist for garnish.

Put all the ingredients in a highball glass and stir them in order for the flavors to blend. Top up with a small amount of cola and garnish with the lemon twist.

The recipe is not at all complicated and the result is very satisfying. You can also try one of the numerous variations of this drink or you can substitute the sour mix with freshly squeezed lemon juice. If you want something even stronger, you can try the Texas Tea which also has bourbon. The Hawaiian Ice Tea calls for pineapple juice and the Touchdown Tea uses Gatorade instead of the sour mix.