Long Island iced tea (affectionately known as a LIIT) is a hefty highball cocktail consisting of not two, not three, but four different spirits. Mixing vodka, tequila, gin, rum and Triple Sec may make you wary, but the Long Island cocktail is, in truth, pretty good. The addition of citrusy sour mix and sparkly cola takes the bite out of the booziness, creating a drink that goes down easy. Almost too easy.
It may or may not actually be from Long Island, and the drink certainly doesn’t contain any tea. What it does offer is a boozy but balanced flavor. It’s classy enough to fit in at a 1970s cocktail party and refreshing enough to enjoy as a porch sipper on a sweltering day. The best part is that it’s as easy to make as it is to drink: You don’t even need a cocktail shaker to pull it off.
How to Make a Long Island Iced Tea
Simply combine all the ingredients in a tall cocktail glass filled with ice. Give it a quick stir and garnish it with a lemon wedge. Adjust the sweetness with extra sour mix or cola.
To make drinks for two, double up the ingredients. If you have one, you can place everything (except the cola) in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Give it a good shake and divide it between two ice-filled glasses. Top with cola, and enjoy!
Long Island Iced Tea Ingredients
- Vodka: You don’t need top-shelf vodka, but we don’t recommend the cheapest one in the liquor store, either. You want the vodka (or gluten-free vodka) to have a crisp, clean finish.
- Gin: The citrusy, botanical character of London dry gin adds a lovely fragrance to this boozy cocktail. If you’re unsure of which gin to use, check out our guide for the best gin for Negroni.
- Light rum: All the other liquors are clear in this drink, so opt for lighter-bodied white or light rum. Rum adds a tropical vibe, but the nuances of more robust dark or aged rums would get a little lost in the mix.
- Tequila: Use any blanco tequila that you’d use for making margaritas. For best flavor, choose one that’s 100% de agave or puro de agave.
- Triple Sec: This is the generic name for orange liqueur. Feel free to use a specific brand name if you have it in your liquor cabinet, but it’s not necessary.
- Sour mix: Pick up a bottle of store-bought sours or make homemade sour mix with sugar, water, lemon and lime juice.
- Cola: A splash of cola gives the cocktail its tea-colored hue and adds a lightly effervescent, bubbly finish.
- Ice cubes: If you want to get fancy, make the cocktail shine with clear ice cubes.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the glass
Place ice in a Collins or highball glass.
Editor’s Tip: Collins and highball glasses are tall, skinny cocktail glasses with a cylindrical shape. They showcase the height of the ice to give the cocktail an elegant appearance.
Step 2: Stir to mix the ingredients
Pour the vodka, gin, rum, sour mix, Triple Sec, tequila and cola into the glass.
Give the drink a quick stir to combine the ingredients.
Step 3: Garnish the cocktail
If desired, garnish with a slice of lemon.
Editor’s Tip: Fresh citrus adds a bit of added zip for a classic iced tea finish. Here’s how to store lemons so the wedges don’t dry out.
Long Island Iced Tea Variations
- Long Island lemonade: Perk up the flavors with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Replace the sour mix with 1 ounce of lemon juice and 1 ounce of simple syrup. For a super-smooth finish, use gomme syrup (a simple syrup made with gum arabic).
- Texas iced tea: Add bourbon to a Long Island iced tea to make Texas iced tea. If desired, reduce all the alcohol ingredients to 1/2 or 3/4 ounces to make room for bourbon’s extra booziness.
- Tokyo iced tea: Make this green variation by swapping Midori (a melon liqueur) for the Triple Sec and lemon-lime soda for the cola.
- New England iced tea: New England iced tea is a refreshing regional variation made with cranberry juice instead of cola.
- Blue Long Island iced tea: Give the cocktail a vibrant blue hue using blue curacao instead of Triple Sec and lemon-lime soda instead of cola.
- Peach Long Island iced tea: Muddle fresh fruit like peaches, strawberries or blackberries in the glass to make this fruity-fresh variation.
Can you make Long Island iced tea ahead of time?
You can make a ready-to-serve batch of Long Island iced teas by combining all the ingredients (except cola and ice). Store the cocktail in a tightly lidded jar in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. Then, pour it into an ice-filled glass and top with cola.
Most liquors last forever because the high alcohol content wards off bacteria growth. However, sour mix and liqueurs like Triple Sec have a more limited shelf life. Check for expiration dates on your bottles.
Long Island Iced Tea Tips
How do you make a pitcher of Long Island iced tea?
It’s easy to make Long Islands for a crowd, so don’t be afraid to break out a pitcher or large punch bowl! Calculate how many drinks you plan to make, and multiply each ingredient by that number. So, for 10 Long Island iced teas, you’ll need 10 ounces of vodka. To keep things fresh, keep the cola and ice out of the batch and add them to each glass. This way, each guest can customize their cocktail.
How do you adjust the strength of this Long Island iced tea recipe?
To reduce Long Island iced tea’s strength, reduce the boozy ingredients to 3/4 ounce each and increase the amount of cola. Or, try serving the drink over crushed ice, which melts more quickly and mellows out the alcohol content with each sip. For a stronger Long Island iced tea, add a bit more rum or vodka. You can also cut down on the sour mix and fortify the drink with lemon-infused vodka. But this drink already packs a heck of a punch, so you may want to taste it before making it stronger!
