Long Island Iced Tea Made With 5 Types Of Liquor Sweet & Sour And A Splash Of Cola Gives This Cocktail Its Deceptive Look And Name So Tasty But Youll Only Need One
Some people like to stretch their nights out on the town for hours with light beers and tall glasses of wine. Others want to race for the finish line and the Long Island Iced Tea is the perfect vehicle for that! In spite of its looks, this tricky cocktail doesnt contain any tea at all instead, its made up of light rum, tequila, gin, vodka, and triple sec, bringing each highball glass to a whopping 22% alcohol volume! Even with all that liquor and a tiny amount of mixer, these drinks go down nice and smooth and can be adapted in all kinds of ways to fit your tastes. Pair it up with my favorite shrimp recipe and its a party!
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Hi friends, Erica here sharing a Long Island Iced Tea recipe a classic cocktail every home bartender should know!
If you have a liquor cabinet stocked with the basics, you can create just about any classic cocktail. The Long Island Iced Tea is likely the strongest one you can mix up, but make sure you sip these babies slowly they sure do pack a punch! The origins of the LIIT arent quite as clear as the drink itself. The name would lead you to believe it to be invented in Long Island, New York, and that IS where the current incarnation got its name in the 1970s. However, the cocktail may have been invented in the 1920s during the prohibition era. That version of the drink was made with maple syrup and whiskey in addition to the clear liquors.
Whats In A Long Island Iced Tea
A Long Island Iced Tea consists of vodka, gin, tequila, white rum, triple sec, lemon juice, simple syrup and cola. Though the number of liquors in this cocktail can seem staggering, one of the reasons for its enduring popularity is that its fairly uncomplicated to make. As an old bartender shorthand goes, just use all your clear base spirits plus triple sec, add in lemon juice and simple syrup, then top with cola.
Why Does Long Island Iced Tea Not Taste Like Alcohol
According to the traditional recipe, the drink should have a similar look and taste to iced tea while masking the flavor of alcohol. Many bartenders stopped using tequila in traditional cocktail recipes because it overpowers the more neutral spirits like vodka, gin, ind, many bartenders stopped adding tequila in the traditional cocktail recipe, since tequila overpowers the more neutral spirits like vodka, gin and white rum.
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Nutrients Of Long Island Iced Tea
How many kcal does a Long Island Iced Tea have? You can find out here. One serving contains:
| water |
- 1,5 cl
- 150ml Cola
- 5 Ice cubes
Preparation
- The preparation of the Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail is very easy. Put all ingredients into a glass filled with ice and stir a few times.
- Garnish the cocktail with a few slices of lemon or lime and that’s it!
Raspberry Long Island Iced Tea
This easy10-minute Raspberry Long Island Iced Tea is festive, boozy, and refreshing! Its made with real iced tea, without the cola, and freshly squeezed lemon juice the perfect summertime happy hour cocktail!
Whats sweet yet tart and boozy yet so sippable and basically a must for summertime cocktails with friends?! Its a Homemade Raspberry Long Island Iced Tea, of course.
This drink takes the cake when it comes to enjoying fruity, refreshing cocktails when the heat rises, although as you might know, long island iced teas are infamous for being boozy. Easy to drink, and easy towell, go to your head. So drinkers be warned, this is one you want to sip slowly across an afternoon.
So you might know that LIITs are boozy, but did you know that long island iced tea cocktails actually dont have iced tea as an ingredient?!
I was this many years old when I learned this. And because Im much more of a fan of iced tea than cola, and 10/10 its already in my fridge in the summer as opposed to the soda, I knew my fruity version of this drink was, in fact, going to have iced tea.
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What Is A Long Island Iced Tea
Im sure youve heard of it, if not have enjoyed it a time or two , but if you havent or vaguely have you might be intrigued by this almost misnamed cocktail.
So as mentioned, a Long Island Iced Tea does not actually have iced tea in it, but in fact, just has the same golden amber color that iced tea does. Its a very alcohol-forward cocktail that is typically made with vodka, tequila, rum, gin, sour mix, triple sec, and cola.
Somehow all of these liquors mix together and end up in a bright, refreshing cocktail. Because of the high amount of alcohol and low amount of mixers, its typically much stronger of a drink than a typical highball cocktail. It has a reputation of being one of those drinks thats dangerously delicious, and easy to drink, and before you know it youll be feeling it. So please drink responsibly, and sip slowly!
Tips To Make Long Island Iced Tea
Instead of adding all the ingredients into the Highball glass, you can also add them to a shaker and strain into the Highball glass with fresh ice.
As an alternative to the sweet and sour mix, you can use Simple syrup and add freshly made lemon juice.
In case you need a little stronger LIIT, you can increase the content of the liquors and reduce the amount of mixers like Cola and Sweet & Sour mix. This reduces the color by a bit, but definitely strong!
You can also add Mint leaves as Garnish, it is presentable as well!
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Who Created The Long Island Iced Tea
The story of Long Island iced tea is as sordid as its ingredient list, and its true origin may be lost to history. One Prohibition-era story credits Charles Bishop, a 1930s moonshiner in then-dry Tennessee. Jump to the 1970s, and the concoction’s creation could go to Robert Bott, a bartender from Long Island. Then there is the tale that the Long Island was an original drink of the T.G.I. Friday’s franchise. It is entirely possible that Bishop made the drink and that it was forgotten for a few decades until Bott remade it and gave it the now-famous name. At some point, the restaurant probably caught wind of it and claimed it as their own .
Long Island Iced Teas You Should Know How To Make
Ahhhh, the Long Island Iced Tea.
As long as people have enjoyed vomiting in the bushes outside their neighborhood watering hole, theyve enjoyed sucking down Long Island Iced Teas.
Just ordering a Long Island sort of defines your night right from the start and makes a declaration to everyone around you: Im going to go from zero to humiliating just as quickly as I can.
Now, if you think people get excited by the Long Island, wait until you offer them a spin-off of the original and watch them jump around like a chimpanzee who got stung by a bee. Ive been serving these variations for years, and if you want to be loved as a bartender, learn to diversify your Long Islands and watch them clutch at their drink excitedly like a child clutches an Otter Pop on a hot summer day.
If youre not a bartender yet, and you want to learn how, you can check out TheRealBarCourse here, even if you have no experience or have no idea where to start.
But enough of that. What kind of teacher would I be if I didnt educate you on the beginnings of the Long Island and where it came from?
HISTORY OF THE LONG ISLAND
As with practically every cocktail with some time under its belt, the Long Island comes with debatable and uncertain beginnings. At first glance it appears as if it might have been inspired by the fruitcake: just throw anything you have in your cupboards into a container, mix it up and then ask yourself why in the hell you would ever ingest such a thing.
Whats up with that, Bob?
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How Strong Is Long Island Iced Tea
The five liquors make Long Island iced tea seem like a strong drink, but if you do the math, it’s not terribly potent compared to other cocktails. When you pour 80-proof liquors, 60-proof triple sec, and top it with 2 ounces of soda, its alcohol content falls in the 16 percent ABV range. That is about the same as a strong rum and Coke and half the strength of a gin martini.
Recipe Variation 1 Change The Base
Changing the base spirit is tricky because there are already so many different spirits in the cocktail. However, switching out the rum for Bols Barrel Aged Genever is a good option. Bols Triple Sec can be exchanged for Bols Ginger to give the cocktail a spicy edge. Or make a smoky version of the cocktail by replacing the whiskey with a peaty Scotch whiskey and switching out the tequila for the smoky agave spirit Mezcal: The Smoky Iced Tea.
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Why Do Bartenders Hate Making Long Island Iced Teas
If theres one thing any bartender hates, its dealing with customers who order complicated drinks at peak hours. Mixologist Elena Alvarez recalled in an interview with Business Insider that, really difficult drinks with a lot of ingredients are always annoying to make when things are really busy. Given the plethora of bottles necessary to make a proper Long Island, its a time consuming cocktail to prepare, hence the hassle for bartenders everywhere.
What Kind Of Glass Should I Use
Its best to serve a long island iced tea in a highball glass that is around 8 ounces. A tumbler glass like a Collins glass is tall and skinny, making it perfect for serving a long island because you can fill it with ice, and visually, the strong cocktail appears to have a lot of volume.
Whichever glass type you choose, it should be filled with ice and then topped off with the cocktail.
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Which Rum Is Suitable For Cocktails
The biggest differences are between matured and unmatured rum. Actually, rum gets its brown colour from storage and the maturing process in wooden barrels. With cheap rums that have not been stored in barrels for a long time, it is quite possible that brown rum was simply coloured with caramelised sugar.
Of course, cocktails only become particularly good if you use high-quality ingredients. That’s why I can only recommend to make sure that you don’t just buy the cheapest rum when you buy it.
Medium-matured white rum is best suited for Long Island Iced Tea. This is first stored in wooden barrels and then filtered to make it clear again. Aging in wooden barrels makes the rum spicier but at the same time milder. A variety that is perfectly suited for this is the white Plantation Rum.
Brown rum, unlike white rum, is not filtered after storage and therefore has an even stronger and more complex taste. Often there are also notes of fruit, chocolate or vanilla.
As the Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail contains many different spirits, I would rather use white, milder rum to keep the taste of the drink light.
Long Island Ice Tea With Whiskey
If you believe the older genesis of Long Island Iced Tea, the cocktail contained whisky from the beginning, but no Triple Sec. This variation is based on the original recipe by Ransom Bishop from 1920, so get into the time machine and try it out!
Ingredients for Long Island Iced Tea with Whiskey:
- 1,5 cl
- 150ml Cola
- 5 Ice cubes
Preparation
- The preparation of the Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail is very easy. Put all ingredients into a glass filled with ice and stir a few times.
- Garnish the cocktail with a few slices of lemon or lime and that’s it!
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Variations Of The Cocktail
There are many variations of a long island iced tea using different juices, fruit liquor, or whiskey in place of one of the liquors .
For example, a Texas Tea just adds whiskey, and a Tennesse Tea replaces the gin with whiskey and does not use tequila. Blue Curacao can often be found in a variation of the drink, too, for a fun blue beverage.
Looking to change this version up? Why not give strawberry syrup a try!
What Kind Of Alcohol Mixes Well With Hot Tea
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Long Island Iced Tea Variations To Try:
- The Blue Long Island Iced Tea – This lighter, fruitier version of a Long Island Iced Tea is an eye-catching adaptation of its notorious counterpart.
- The Long Beach Iced Tea – Sister to the notorious party starter the Long Island Iced Tea, the Long Beach Iced Tea evokes that refreshing West Coast sunshine.
- The Long Dryland Iced Tea– Congratulations, you made it through dry January! Treat yourself to the biggest, baddest cocktail of them all– the Long Dryland Iced Tea.
History Of The Long Island Iced Tea
The origin of the Long Island Iced Tea most likely lies in Kingsport, Tennessee. It was there, that a guy named “Old Man Bishop” made the first version of what we know today as Long Island Iced Tea.
Living in his community named “Long Island” in Kingsport, he created this boozy cocktail during prohibition. -That also explains the name. The cocktail was supposed to look like a regular serve of Iced Tea and definitely not like a boozy afternoon drink.
The recipe later got refined by his son Ransom Bishop. The result is a mix of Whiskey, maple syrup, and five other liquors of different quantities.
Here’s his recipe to give you an idea of what the original version looked like:
- 4 oz. Cola
- Squeeze 1/2 Lemon & 1/2 Lime
- 1 oz. Whiskey
- 1/2 oz. Rum
- 1 oz. Vodka
Over time the recipe changed slightly. Today’s version of the Long Island Iced Tea is better balanced. But it is still almost as potent as in the traditional cocktail recipe.
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Long Island Iced Tea Variations
There are a few popular variations you can make to this recipe. Changing the cola for another type of soda or fruit juice is an easy way to change up the flavor of this drink.
- To make a Texas Tea, you will add 1/2 cup of Bourbon Whiskey.
- To make Long Beach Tea, you can use cranberry juice instead of cola. This gives the drink a slightly fruity taste that is a bit more tart.
- For a Miami Tea, you will want to add peach schnapps and eliminate the tequila. You can add a lemon-lime soda like Sprite or 7-Up instead of cola.
- If you want to make a Hawaiian Iced Tea, just leave out the cola and add pineapple juice.
- For a Blue Long Island Iced Tea, you will want to leave out the cola and add a dash of blue Curacao instead. Some also leave out the triple sec in this variation. Its up to you.
There are lots of different ways to change up this Long Island recipe. Just experiment until you find the one that you like the best.
OTHER EASY COCKTAILS
Is Long Island Iced Tea Also Available Non
Long Island Ice Tea tastes surprisingly close to iced tea, although it contains five different spirits and not a bit of iced tea. This effect can of course be used if you prefer your Long Island Cocktail to be alcohol-free. Today I will present you with two recipes:
Simple recipe for alcohol-free Long Island Ice Tea
- 150ml Ice Tea Lemon Flavor
- 150ml Cola
- 3 cl Fresh lemon juice
- 1,5 cl Sugar syrup
- 1-2 dashes of orange aroma
- 5 Ice cubes
Preparation
- The preparation of the Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail is very easy. Put all ingredients into a glass filled with ice and stir a few times.
- Garnish the cocktail with a few slices of lemon or lime and that’s it!
Premium recipe for alcohol-free Long Island Ice Tea
Most types of spirits are now also available in non-alcoholic versions. You probably won’t find these variants in your next supermarket. But you can order them in relevant online shops.
- 1,5 cl Alcohol-free white rum
- 1,5 cl Alcohol-free Vodka
- 150ml Cola
Preparation
- The preparation of the Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail is very easy. Put all ingredients into a glass filled with ice and stir a few times.
- Garnish the cocktail with a few slices of lemon or lime and that’s it!
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