Long Island Iced Tea – A Summer Refresher

From Wikipedia.org

I like iced tea, usually unsweetened with a touch of fresh lemon.  Sometimes, with a touch of demerara sugar.  It’s a cool alternative to hot coffee and it’s pretty healthy too.

However, there comes a time when plain ol’ drinks simply won’t do, and you need that extra special kick to get you into that relaxed groove. Like…iced tea on nitro, otherwise known as a Long Island Iced Tea.

For those of you who don’t know, a Long Island Iced Tea is a mixed drink which contains gin, tequila, vodka, rum and triple sec as well as other ingredients (as if we need anything else), depending on the recipe.

The origin of the Long Island Iced Tea is rather clouded, much like you’d be after drinking one or two.

The generally accepted origin is that a bartender invented the drink at the Oak  Beach Inn located on Long Island, New York. The other story is that it was invented by “Old Man Bishop” in a community called Long Island located in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Which one do I believe?  Who cares, as long as I’m drinking.  Here, I’ll give you the “Old Man Bishop” version.  Enjoy!

Long Island Iced Tea – “Tennessee Style”

Squeeze a lemon half and a lime half in a highball glass.

Then add:

1 oz. Vodka

1 oz. Whiskey

½ oz. Rum

½ oz. Tequila

½ oz. Gin

½ oz. Maple Syrup  (the real kind, not the stuff you usually use for pancakes)

Mix thoroughly.

Then pour in 4 to 5 oz. Soda Water (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or RC Cola) without stirring.

Sip slowly and enjoy!