Long Island Iced Tea
ClassicIBA OfficialFive spirits, a splash of cola. No tea involved.
Deceptively easy-drinking for something this potent. The five spirits blur into a smooth, boozy whole, lemon and a touch of sugar pull it toward a citrusy sour, and the cola float lends color and a faint caramel sweetness. Tastes like iced tea, drinks like a warning.
Ingredients
- 0.5 oz Vodka
- 0.5 oz London Dry Gin
- 0.5 oz White Rum
- 0.5 oz Blanco Tequila
- 0.5 oz Triple Sec
- 0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 0.5 oz Simple Syrup
- Cola to top
- Lemon wedge · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add the vodka, gin, white rum, tequila, triple sec, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.
- 2
Shake briefly to combine and chill.
- 3
Strain into an ice-filled highball glass.
- 4
Top with a splash of cola for color and garnish with a lemon wedge.
The Story
The Long Island Iced Tea is an exercise in disguise: four base spirits plus triple sec, brightened with lemon and topped with just enough cola to fake the color of iced tea — and taste, improbably, like it too. The popular story credits Robert "Rosebud" Butt at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island in 1972. Whatever its origin, it is deceptively smooth for its strength, which is precisely the point, and precisely why it's best sipped slowly.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
