June is National Iced Tea Month, and June 10th is National Iced Tea Day. So enjoy a tall, cold iced tea.

If you prefer something with a kick, you can add lemon or orange liqueur, some tequila or vodka, or your favorite whiskey.

Or, you can make a Long Island Iced Tea, which contains no iced tea but is an homage. It gets its name because it resembles an iced tea.

Long Island Ice Tea first surfaced—according to the leading story—in the late 1970s. It was concocted by a bartender at the Oak Beach Inn, which had two locations on the east end of Long Island, New York.

Another claim is that the drink dates back to the 1920s during Prohibition,* invented in a river island community called Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee (details).
 

Long Island Iced Tea, so named because it looks just like…iced tea! Photo by A41cats | Dreamstime.

*Prohibition Trivia: Prohibition began with the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed the manufacture and sale of liquor from January 17, 1920 until the amendment was repealed in 1933 (the only instance in U.S. history of a full repeal of a constitutional amendment). Drinking itself was never illegal, just manufacture and sale; and there were exceptions for medicinal and religious uses.

For 13 long years of Prohibition, which saw the rise of organized crime and bootlegging, it was common to disguise cocktails as non-alcoholic drinks, lest neighbors or law enforcement officials catch you enjoying a cocktail.

WHAT IS LONG ISLAND ICED TEA?

Long Island Iced Tea is a highball made with equal parts of gin, rum, tequila and vodka, combined with sour mix and a splash of cola. Some popular variations use equal parts of the main liquors but include a smaller amount of triple sec or other orange liqueur. Others replace the tequila with brandy, the sour mix with lemon juice (which we prefer), add white crème de menthe—and even replace the cola with actual iced tea.

Sometimes, changing the ingredients changes the name. See the numerous variations below.

Long Island Iced Tea has a much higher alcohol concentration than most cocktails (about 22%) due to the combination of five spirits and the relatively small amount of mixer. Some hardy souls order it “extra long,” which can double the alcohol to mixer ratio. Whew!

Long Island Iced Tea. Photo by Caartic | Wikimedia.

LONG ISLAND ICED TEA RECIPE

Ingredients For Two Drinks

 
Preparation

1. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add spirits and sweet and sour mix. Shake well.

2. Add a few fresh ice cubes to a highball glass and strain in the drink.

3. Top with the cola, and garnish with the wedge of lime.

LONG ISLAND ICED TEA BY ANY OTHER NAME

Here’s a list of variations, from Wikipedia, many of which substitute something else for the cola:

 
Imagine a party where you could taste them all!