This cocktail is known for its strength, but Food Network Kitchen's rendition manages to be just as bright, effervescent, and well-balanced as it is potent.

Level: Easy
Yield: 2 drinks
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 of 2 servings): Calories 177, Total Fat 0 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Carbohydrates 8 g, Dietary Fiber 0 g, Sugar 6 g, Protein 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 13 mg
Total Time: 5 min
Active Time: 5 min

Long Island iced tea is a lively and bubbly cocktail not suited for those seeking light drinks. Containing nearly five ounces of alcohol, it packs more punch than a typical martini. Still, when crafted properly, it tastes lively and refreshing rather than overwhelmingly alcoholic. Food Network Kitchen perfected this recipe so you can adjust it by swapping different spirits to suit your taste.

What Exactly Is a Long Island Iced Tea?

A Long Island iced tea features five types of spiritstequila, gin, vodka, rum, and triple secserved over ice and garnished with a lemon wedge. Although it mimics the appearance of iced tea, its brownish tint comes from a splash of cola such as Pepsi or Coca-Cola.

The drink's origins are debated. Some mixologists believe it originated during Prohibition, as a way consumers disguised their liquor intake. Others credit its invention to the 1970s at the Oak Bench Inn located in Babylon, New York, a town on Long Island.

Ingredients and Substitution Tips for Long Island Iced Tea

Our recipe creators experimented with various proportions, spirit types, and mixers to bring you this adaptable Long Island iced tea recipe. Here's how you can personalize it:

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Fresh citrus adds brightness and enhances the drink's flavor, far better than bottled lemon juice or pre-made sour mixes or Long Island iced tea concentrates.
Change up the spirits. Try using aged rum or reposado tequila instead of the usual white varieties, or swap triple sec for citron vodka and orange juice. For a different twist, replace tequila with bourbon to create a variation called Texas tea.
Try a blue Long Island iced tea. Substitute triple sec with blue Curacao, which has a similar orange aroma but a brilliant blue color. Instead of cola, top the drink with lemon-lime soda like Sprite, and garnish with lemon, lime, or orange wedges. This colorful version is sometimes called Alaskan iced tea or Long Island iced sea.
Make a Long Island iced tea with real tea. Replace nearly half a cup of cola with iced black tea and add a splash of plain sparkling water or seltzer for bubbles. If you use unsweetened iced tea, a touch of simple syrup can keep the flavors balanced.
Reduce the alcohol. To lower the alcohol percentage, cut the amount of each spirit in half and add twice as much cola or a mix of half cola and half seltzer.

Long Island Iced Tea

Level: Easy
Yield: 2 drinks
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 of 2 servings): Calories 177, Total Fat 0 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Carbohydrates 8 g, Dietary Fiber 0 g, Sugar 6 g, Protein 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 13 mg
Total Time: 5 min
Active Time: 5 min

2 cups ice cubes
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce gin
1 ounce white rum
1 ounce white tequila
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup cola, or to taste
2 lemon wedges

Instructions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add vodka, gin, rum, tequila, Triple Sec, and lemon juice. Seal and shake vigorously to chill and combine.
Pour the entire mixture, ice included, equally into two glasses or beer mugs.
Top each glass with cola.
Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve.