De gevaarlijk lekkere Long Island Iced Tea cocktail

Notorious, but Not as Dangerous as It Seems; Long Island Iced Tea cocktail

  • Easy to make at home or behind the bar

  • 3 surprising recipe variations

The Long Island Iced Tea is a notorious cocktail that has stood the test of time. Famous for its combination of multiple spirits and best enjoyed ice-cold, it has a reputation for being dangerously strong. However, when made with the right balance of ingredients, a Long Island Iced Tea is not quite as intimidating as it seems. It is also a surprisingly easy cocktail to prepare. Here’s how to make a delicious Long Island Iced Tea that you can enjoy responsibly.

How to Make a Long Island Iced Tea

Because this recipe uses only small amounts of each spirit, and because the alcohol is softened by the lime juice, sugar syrup, and cola, you can safely enjoy this cocktail on a warm summer evening. As always, moderation is key. Technically, the drink is closer to a long drink than a traditional cocktail, and it is easy to make both at home and in a professional bar setting.

Long Island Iced Tea Ingredients

Glassware and Tools

  • Sling glass or highball glass

  • Jigger

  • Bar spoon

Method

  1. Pour all ingredients except the cola into a sling or highball glass and stir.

  2. Fill the glass with ice cubes and top up with cola.

  3. Give the drink a brief stir and garnish with a lime wheel.

The History of the Long Island Iced Tea

The Long Island Iced Tea has been part of cocktail history for decades, but the person most commonly credited with its creation is American bartender Robert “Rosebud” Butt. He invented the drink in 1972 while working at the Oak Beach Inn in Long Island, New York, during a cocktail competition that challenged bartenders to create a new drink featuring Triple Sec.

However, a similar cocktail appeared nearly 50 years earlier. During the turbulent years of Prohibition in the 1920s, an elderly man known as “Old Man Bishop” created a drink in a community called Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee. His recipe reportedly combined whiskey, maple syrup, and a mixture of gin, vodka, tequila, and rum.

The first published recipe bearing the name “Long Island Iced Tea” appeared in Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book in 1961.

The version now served around the world is based on Robert “Rosebud” Butt’s recipe, combining equal parts Triple Sec, gin, rum, vodka, and tequila with lime juice and sugar syrup, finished with a splash of cola.

Amsterdam Iced Tea

Although the cocktail may have been invented on Long Island, many of the ingredients used in this Long Island Iced Tea have roots in Amsterdam. Lucas Bols was among the first entrepreneurs able to select the finest ingredients directly upon their arrival in the Port of Amsterdam. With that in mind, perhaps we could just as easily call it an “Amsterdam Iced Tea,” couldn’t we?

The 3 Best Long Island Iced Tea Variations

A cocktail with as many ingredients as the Long Island Iced Tea naturally offers plenty of opportunities for variation. At first glance, it may seem like an easy recipe to modify, but as is often the case, appearances can be deceiving.

Variation 1 – Change the Base

Changing the base spirits can be challenging because there are already so many components in the drink. Replacing the rum with Bols Barrel Aged Genever is an excellent option. You can also swap Bols Triple Sec for Bols Ginger to add a spicy edge.

Another approach is to create a smoky version of the cocktail by replacing the vodka with a peaty Scotch whisky and the tequila with mezcal, the smoky agave spirit. The result is a Smokey Iced Tea.

Variation 2 – Experiment with Syrups

Replace the sugar syrup with vanilla syrup, passion fruit syrup, or elderflower syrup to give the cocktail a sweeter, fruitier, or more floral character.

Variation 3 – Go Asian

Try substituting yuzu juice for lime juice to give the cocktail an Asian twist. To take the concept even further, replace the gin and vodka with shochu and sake for a truly East Asian-inspired variation.

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