The Long Island Iced Tea is the cocktail university students pretend to know how to drink.
Why you are pouring this tonight
The Long Island Iced Tea is what every undergraduate in the country thinks is sophisticated and what every bartender in the country thinks is a punishment. Five spirits, a splash of cola, lemon, ice, tall glass. The trick most people miss is that the cola is a colour cue, not a mixer. Half-a-pour of cola, no more. Anything more and you have a sweet brown puddle.
Equal parts vodka, gin, silver tequila, white rum, triple sec, in 15mL pours so you do not end up with something that goes through bone. Lemon juice for citrus, a splash of simple syrup for body. Build in a tall Collins glass full of ice, top with the smallest possible amount of cola (45mL is the maximum), garnish with a lemon wedge. Made well it tastes like an iced tea you would order from room service. Made badly it tastes like a regret. Drink one, eat bar food (wings, sliders, fries with aioli), and if anyone offers you a second one say no.
What to pour it alongside
Bar food. Wings, sliders, fries with aioli. This is not a sit-down-dinner cocktail.
Notes
The cola is a colour cue, not a mixer. If you’ve added more than 60mL of cola, you’ve made a sweet mess. The drink is a sour with multiple spirits, not a cola highball.
The recipe
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