The Long Island Iced Tea recipe
for your table
Fill a tall glass generously with ice.
Shake all the spirits, the lemon juice, and the syrup briefly with ice.
Strain into the glass and top with a splash of cola for the tea color.
Stir once and garnish with lemon.
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The story
Bartender Robert 'Rosebud' Butt claims to have invented it: in 1972, he entered a cocktail competition at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island where triple sec was mandatory, and his entry, all the clear spirits from the bar plus cola, became a sensation. An older story points to 'Old Man Bishop' from Tennessee, who was already making a similar mix during Prohibition in the community of Long Island, Tennessee. In any case, the LIIT became a symbol of exuberant nights in the 1980s, and the reason many bars serve it in moderation.
The right glass
Long Island calls for the largest highball glass you have: with five spirits, juice, syrup, and cola, you need at least 47 to 55 cl, plus room for plenty of ice. A tall, sturdy glass with a thick base is the right choice here. This is not a cocktail for delicate glassware. The light brown color with lemon in it should look exactly like iced tea. For a large pitcher in the middle of the table, take a look at our pitchers.
Bormioli Rocco Diamond Highball Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Onis Icon Highball Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 57,90.
The right tools
For a Long Island Iced Tea, besides the glass you use a Boston shaker, a jigger for precise measuring, a cocktail strainer, a fine strainer for double straining, and a citrus juicer. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you'll find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 91,70.
What do you use to make a Long Island Iced Tea?
For a Long Island Iced Tea, you need the right foundation. On every drinks page, you'll find the percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
The Long Beach swaps cola for cranberry juice, the Tokyo Iced Tea goes green with melon liqueur, and the Electric takes a blue curaçao turn. Want it lighter? Halve all the spirits while keeping the proportions intact. The flavor stays, the impact is halved. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
Cola is an accent, not a mixer: a splash is enough for the color. Measure all the ingredients carefully. With this cocktail in particular, the balance is what makes the difference between elegant and explosive.
Good to know
The ratio of the five spirits
Vodka, gin, white rum, tequila, and triple sec each go in at 1.5 cl, for a total of 7.5 cl of spirits. Add 2.5 cl of fresh lemon juice and 3 cl of sugar syrup, and only then add a splash of cola. The cola is a coloring agent, not a mixer, since two to three centiliters is enough for the light brown iced-tea color. So there is no tea in it, despite the name. Measure all five spirits with a jigger, because with equal parts, even a little too much is immediately noticeable in the balance of the glass.
How much alcohol is in a Long Island
This cocktail comes to about 14 percent in the glass, but that figure says little. More important is the absolute amount: the five spirits together provide just over 3 cl of pure alcohol, or nearly two and a half standard drinks in one glass. That is more than half a bottle of wine and why many bars serve a maximum of two per guest. The cola, lemon, and syrup make the whole drink smooth and refreshing, so you can barely taste how strong it is. Drink it slowly and keep a glass of water beside it.
Long Island, Long Beach, or Tokyo
The basic recipe stays the same; only the final ingredient changes. Long Beach Iced Tea replaces the cola with cranberry juice, making it pinker and more tart. Tokyo Iced Tea uses melon liqueur, giving it a bright green color with a melon-sweet finish. Electric Iced Tea uses blue curaçao to take it in a blue direction. All three use the same 7.5 cl of spirits, so they are exactly as strong as the original, no matter how innocent the color may look. The lemon juice and sugar syrup remain the same in all variations.
A lighter version for a group
Halve the amount of all five spirits to 0.75 cl and keep the lemon juice, syrup, and cola the same: the flavor remains recognizable, while the impact drops to just over one standard drink. For a group, mix everything except the cola in advance in a pitcher. For eight glasses, that means 12 cl of each spirit, 20 cl of lemon juice, and 24 cl of sugar syrup. Chill the pitcher for at least two hours, pour over plenty of ice when serving, and top each glass separately with a splash of cola. Garnish each glass with a lemon wedge.
Long Island Iced Tea Ingredients
The Long Island Iced Tea cocktail contains nine ingredients, five of which are spirits measuring 1.5 cl each: vodka, gin, white rum, tequila and triple sec. Choose them carefully and keep them neutral. A smooth vodka, a dry gin, white rum and a blanco tequila keep the color light and prevent any one bottle from dominating. For the triple sec, use an orange liqueur such as Cointreau; an overly sweet liqueur, together with the sugar syrup, pushes the whole drink too far toward sweetness. Squeeze the lemon juice fresh, as bottled juice is immediately noticeable.
Spellings and common mistakes
You may also see the name written as long island ice tea or long island icetea; they all refer to the same mix. What more often goes wrong is the preparation. Do not shake the cola, as it will lose its fizz and make the shaker overflow; add the splash only once the drink is in the glass. Also fill the glass to the top with ice, so the drink stays cold and dilutes less quickly. Taste before serving: if it turns out too sweet, balance it with an extra splash of lemon juice.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a Long Island Iced Tea?
Five spirits, 1.5 cl each: vodka, gin, white rum, tequila and triple sec, topped up with 2.5 cl fresh lemon juice, 3 cl sugar syrup and a splash of cola. The cola is purely for the iced-tea color and not as a mixer, so keep it to a splash.
How much alcohol is in a Long Island Iced Tea?
There are 7.5 cl of spirits in the glass, adding up to more than two standard drinks of alcohol. After shaking and adding plenty of ice, the drink comes out at around 15 to 20 percent. That is precisely why many bars serve a maximum of one per guest: it goes down like soda.
Is the Long Island Iced Tea the strongest cocktail?
No. It is strong, but the Zombie and many navy-strength tiki cocktails easily surpass it. What makes the Long Island notorious is the deception: it tastes like iced tea and goes down easily, while containing five different types of spirits.
Is there tea in a Long Island Iced Tea?
No, there is no tea involved. The name and light brown color come from the splash of cola on top; with a lemon wedge, it looks remarkably like a glass of iced tea. Serve it in a tall glass of 47 to 55 cl; see our highball glasses.
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