A Long Islandiced tea is a type of alcoholicmixed drink typically made with vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola, which gives the drink the same amber hue as its namesake. A popular version mixes equal parts vodka, tequila, gin, rum, triple sec, with parts sour mix and a splash of cola. Lastly, it is decorated with the lemon and straw, after stirring with bar spoon smoothly. Most variants use equal parts of the main liquors, but include a smaller amount of triple sec. Close variants often replace the sour mix with lemon juice, replace the cola with diet cola or actual icedtea, or add white crème de menthe. Most variants do not include any tea. The drink has a much higher alcoholconcentration than most highball drinks due to the relatively small amount of mixer.
Origin
Robert "Rosebud" Butt claims to have invented the Long Island iced tea as an entry in a contest to create a new mixed drink with triple sec in 1972 while he worked at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York. A slightly different drink is claimed to have been invented in the 1920s during Prohibition in the United States by an "Old Man Bishop" in a local community named Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee. The drink was then perfected by Ransom Bishop, Old Man Bishop's son. This drink included whiskey and maple syrup, and varied quantities of the five liquors, rather than the modern one with cola and five equal portions of the five liquors.
Variations
The popularity of the Long Island has spawned its own family of highballs. Many drinks remain popular in their own right in numerous locales throughout the United States, while owing their existence to the success of the original Long Island iced tea. An example of a variation to the Long Island is the Grateful Dead, which uses the same mix as a Long Island but the Triple Sec is replaced with a shot of Chambord and the cola replaced with lemon-lime soda. The Adios Motherfucker is considered a variation of the Long Island Iced Tea with Blue Curaçao substituting the Triple Sec and lemon-lime soda substituting the cola; it has a distinctive blue color. See Blue Hawaiian. If cranberry juice is substituted for cola, the result is a Long BeachIced Tea and has a reddish color. If Midori is substituted for the Coca-Cola the result is a Tokyo Iced Tea and has a greenish color. In the Western United States, Long Island Iced Tea is often made without Tequila. For the original recipe, one must order a Texas Tea instead.
