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Bartending 101: How to make a Long Island Iced Tea
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There seems to be some debate over the origin of this heavy hitter. According to author JS Moore, the Long Island Iced Tea first surfaced during the 1920’s in a community called Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee by local bootlegger Old Man Bishop. He then passed the recipe onto his son Ransom who later perfected the drink in the 1940’s.
The other story of origin dates the creation of the LIT as early back as the 1970’s. From there on the story changes depending on the source. One claims a bartender named Chris Bendicksen working at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, NY invented the drink in 1973. Another claims a bartender by the name of Robert “Rosebud” Butt invented it in 1976, coincidentally also of the Oak Beach Inn.
Regardless of its origin, the Long Island’s popularity is collective amongst the overachievers of alcohol consumers and a fave of the newly 21 year olds and their cohorts. This drink (and its variants) in particular is designed so that if mixed correctly the alcohol is barely detectable making it dangerously easy to knock back. Drinking responsibly is not an option here.
What you will need:
½ oz vodka
½ oz gin
½ oz rum
½ oz triple sec
½ oz tequila
2 oz of sour mix
Splash of coke
Cordial, pint, highball or water glass
Shaker tin
Jigger
Lemon wedge garnish
Back in my corporate restaurant days I was told not to use tequila in my LIT’s to keep liquor costs down, that the customer would never miss it. And it’s true, in all my years of bartending no one has ever notice its absence. Other bartenders also find the tequila to be optional so it becomes a matter of personal taste. My opinion? Save the tequila for shots.
Fill your glass with ice and add your liquor. If you have to use a smaller glass you can cut back on the amount of alcohol but make sure you still pour equal amounts of each. Add your sour mix and splash of coke. Cap the glass with your shaker tin and give it one really hard shake. Squeeze the lemon into the drink and drop the used garnish and a tall straw into the glass.
*A side note to all you newbie drinkers. Calling a Long Island a Strong Island may be original to you but it’s not to the bartender. That novelty has long since worn off for us. And complaining that you can’t taste the alcohol in the drink will only get you an eye roll, not more liquor in your glass.
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