Long Island Iced Tea recipe
1½ oz. gin
¾ oz. Blanco Tequila
¾ oz. Vodka
¾ oz. White Rum
½ oz. Triple Sec
¾ oz. Fresh squeezed lemon juice
¾ oz. 1:1 simple syrup
This drink is often built in a Collins glass. But, it’s vastly improved by adding the first ingredients to a shaker, shaking with ice, straining back into a Collins over ice— and then topping it with cola.
Gin recommendations
Even in our variation that makes it a bit more juniper-forward— don’t be fancy. Stick to an inexpensive gin like Booth’s or New Amsterdam.
Long Island Iced Tea history
While legends persist about the Long Island Iced Tea’s prohibition origins—
One story says that it was invented by Robert Butt of the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island in the early 1970’s. He created it for a cocktail contest.
And another oft-repeated tale says that it appeared in the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook way back in 1961. That cookbook is available on-line for quick reference. You can see for yourself that there is no recipe for Long Island Iced Tea in there— let alone any cocktail. Is this an Urban legend? Does anyone have a version of this cookbook from 1961 with that drink in it?