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Resembling iced tea in color only, Long Island Iced Tea is a strong (but surprisingly tasty) mixed drink made with gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, vodka, and a splash of cola.
Long Islands are made with more types of liquor than you can shake a stick at, and that’s a fact. The surprise comes when you taste the thing and realize that, against all odds, it tastes good.
And I don’t mean “good” like how some people sip Scotch neat and enjoy it. I mean “good” to a person like me: someone who doesn’t have a lot of time or energy to imbibe regularly and is happiest with a weak fruity cocktail.
But Long Islands? Make them right and they taste great, and that’s exactly what we’re aiming for here.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Tequila: Choose tequila blanco, aka silver tequila, which has not been aged. This lighter tequila is great for mixed drinks.
- Triple sec: Or substitute another orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
- Simple syrup: To make it yourself, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved (do not boil). Remove from heat and cool before adding to your cocktail shaker with the other ingredients. Store leftover simple syrup covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
Step-by-step instructions
- Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the gin, tequila, triple sec, vodka, white rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
- Using a bar spoon, gently stir. Top with cola. Garnish with lemon slice and serve.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 cocktail.
- Glassware: Long Island Iced Tea is traditionally made in a highball glass, an 8-ounce to 12-ounce glass tumbler such as a Collins glass.
- Big batch: To make a batch of 8 cocktails, combine 6 ounces (¾ cup) EACH of gin, tequila, triple sec, vodka, and white rum in a pitcher. Add 2 ounces (¼ cup) EACH lemon juice, simple syrup, and cola. Have ice, glassware, and garnishes on hand so guests can help themselves.
- Sour Mix: For lemon-lime flavor, replace the lemon juice with sour mix.
- More mixers: Try iced tea or Diet coke in place of the cola.
- Grateful Dead: Substitute Chambord (black raspberry liqueur) for the triple sec and lemon-lime soda for the cola.
- Tokyo Iced Tea: Substitute Midori (Japanese melon liqueur) for the triple sec and lemon-lime soda for the cola.
- Long Beach Iced Tea: Substitute cranberry juice for the cola.
Recipe FAQs
Not iced tea, that’s for sure! In a tall glass filled with ice, add gin, tequila, triple sec, vodka, white rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Stir gently, top with a splash of cola, and garnish with a slice of lemon.
This cocktail was allegedly created by Bob “Rosebud” Butt on Long Island, New York in 1972. Bob Butt created the drink for a competition, and the rest is history.
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Long Island Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce gin (1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons)
- 3/4 ounce tequila (1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons, see note 1)
- 3/4 ounce triple sec (1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons, see note 2)
- 3/4 ounce vodka (1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons)
- 3/4 ounce white rum (1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons)
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup (1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 ounce cola for topping (1 tablespoon)
- 1 slice lemon for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the gin, tequila, triple sec, vodka, white rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
- Using a bar spoon, gently stir. Top with cola. Garnish with lemon slice and serve.
Notes
- Tequila: Choose tequila blanco, aka silver tequila, which has not been aged. This lighter tequila is great for mixed drinks.
- Triple sec: Or substitute another orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
- Simple syrup: To make it yourself, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved (do not boil). Remove from heat and cool before adding to your cocktail shaker with the other ingredients. Store leftover simple syrup covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 cocktail.
- Glassware: Long Island Iced Tea is traditionally made in a highball glass, an 8-ounce to 12-ounce glass tumbler such as a Collins glass.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
