Long Island Iced Tea
A party-ready highball of five white spirits, triple sec, lemon, and cola.
The Long Island Iced Tea combines vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec with lemon juice and a cola top. Despite the name, it contains no tea; the cola simply gives the drink its iced-tea color. Built as a shaken sour then finished with soda, it is strong, citrusy, and designed for volume service. It became a staple of late-twentieth-century American nightlife.
Ingredients
- • 0.5 oz vodka
- • 0.5 oz gin
- • 0.5 oz white rum
- • 0.5 oz blanco tequila
- • 0.5 oz triple sec
- • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- • 0.5 oz simple syrup
- • 2 oz cola
Did you know?
“The Long Island Iced Tea is widely linked to 1970s Long Island bar culture; Robert “Rosebud” Butt is often credited with popularizing the modern cola-finished version.”
Bartender's Note
Keep each spirit measure equal and modest; the drink is already potent. Cola is a float/top, not the base mixer.
Missing a bottle? See smart swaps in Learn.
How to make the Long Island Iced Tea
- 1Shake vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice
- 2Strain into a highball glass filled with ice
- 3Top with cola and stir once
- 4Garnish with a lemon wedge
