Did you know there’s no tea in that Long Island cocktail?

 

When thinking of “tea” and cocktails” it is perhaps the Long Island Iced Tea that immediately comes to mind. However, it has not a drop of tea in it! It is because it resembles so much, the colour (and taste) of iced tea that it was given the name. 

 

Going back to the origins of this classic drink, there seems to be some confusion over when it actually originated — one version of the story says the drink was invented all the way back in the 1920s, during the Prohibition era. That version of the drink, however, used a mix of whisky and maple syrup (in addition to the other liquors). The other story places the “birth” of the LIIT in 1972, when a bartender was tasked with creating a cocktail that included Triple Sec. This is perhaps closer to the drink we have today. 

To mix a classic LIIT, take 30 ml vodka, 30 ml gin, 30 ml white rum, 30 ml white tequila, 15 ml of Triple Sec and 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice along with two wedges of lemon. Pour all of these over ice in a tall glass, top it off with cola, and you’re ready to sip on a most refreshing cocktail.