Long Island Iced Tea — drink contains more alcohol than most people order in a
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One drink contains more alcohol than most people order in a night — and tastes like lemonade. It’s the Long Island Iced Tea, and it’s designed to deceive you.
Ingredients
- 1 oz vodka
- 1 oz white rum
- 1 oz gin
- 1 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz triple sec
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- Top with — about two ounces
- Garnish: half an ounce of silver tequila
Method
Grab your shaker and add all five spirits first — the vodka, rum, gin, tequila, and triple sec. Add the fresh lemon juice. Fill with ice and shake hard for ten seconds. You want everything well-integrated since you’re combining five different alcohols. Strain into a tall Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with cola — pour it slowly so it doesn’t foam up. The cola is what creates that iced tea color and masks the alcohol burn. Give it one gentle stir to incorporate.
Serve
Serve this in a Collins glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge on the rim.
Pro Tip
Most bartenders use whatever well spirits they have on hand, but that creates a harsh drink that tastes like rubbing alcohol with cola. Use mid-shelf spirits — nothing premium, but avoid the bottom rail. The quality difference is noticeable when you’re mixing five spirits together. Also, fresh lemon juice is non-negotiable. Bottled lemon juice will taste flat and chemical next to fresh.