Arnold Palmer
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙
The Arnold Palmer is a non-alcoholic mix of cold black tea, lemon juice, and a touch of sugar and soda, built as a half tea, half lemonade cooler. Tea's light tannic bite meets sweet-tart lemon and a fizzy lift at the end, easy enough for a porch afternoon or a lunchtime break.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Cold black tea 60 mlLemon juice 40 mlSugar syrup 30 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with soda and briefly stir
- Garnish with a lemon slice
Tips
- Brew the black tea double-strength and chill it fully before building; using warm or weak tea dilutes flavor once ice and soda are added.
- Shake only the tea, lemon juice, and sugar syrup with ice, then strain into an ice-filled Collins glass and top with soda water last to keep it fizzy.
- Use a short, sharp shake of about 10 seconds since there's no dairy or egg to emulsify, just enough to chill and blend the tea and lemon juice.
- Add the soda water gently down the side of the glass after straining to preserve carbonation, then float a lemon slice as garnish.
History
The Arnold Palmer is a nonalcoholic mix of iced tea and lemonade named for the American professional golfer, who was known for drinking the combination and is credited by some with popularizing, if not inventing, the pairing. According to Palmer's own account, he began mixing iced tea with a splash of lemonade at home in the 1950s, a habit he carried into restaurants and clubhouses, where he would describe the mixture rather than name it since it had no name yet. The most widely told version of how it got its name places the moment in Palm Springs, California, sometime in the 1960s, when a woman overheard Palmer ordering the drink at a bar and told the waitress she would have "that Palmer drink" too, after which other patrons picked up the phrase. Some accounts instead tie the naming moment to the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado, where other patrons reportedly overheard him ordering it from a bartender. The drink's national profile grew further after it was mentioned in Rolling Stone's 1997 "Hot Issue," and commercial bottled versions later appeared, including one distributed by the AriZona Beverage Company beginning in 2002. A sweeter, equal-parts version made with sweet tea is called the Winnie Palmer, after Palmer's wife.
FAQ
What is an Arnold Palmer drink made of?
Cold black tea, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and a splash of soda water, shaken and served over ice in a Collins glass with a lemon slice. It is entirely non-alcoholic, at 0% ABV, and vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
What are the ingredients in an Arnold Palmer?
Black tea, lemon juice, sugar syrup, and soda water are the four components in this build, shaken together rather than simply stirred and poured. This version keeps the tea and lemon roughly balanced, with the soda adding a light fizz on top.
What kind of alcohol is in Arnold Palmer Spiked?
This recipe itself contains no alcohol at all — it is a straight tea-and-lemonade cooler. A spiked version is a different, alcoholic riff that typically adds vodka or a similar clear spirit to the same tea-and-lemonade base, but that is not this build.
What's the difference between an Arnold Palmer and a John Daly?
A John Daly is essentially the same tea-and-lemonade combination with vodka or another spirit added, making it an alcoholic version; this Arnold Palmer stays non-alcoholic. The nickname comes from golfer John Daly, who was known for drinking the spiked variant.
How do you make a proper Arnold Palmer?
Combine cold black tea, fresh lemon juice, and sugar syrup, shake to blend and chill, then top with soda water and pour over ice in a Collins glass with a lemon slice. Shaking rather than just stirring helps the sugar syrup dissolve evenly into the cold tea and lemon juice.
Does tea or lemonade go first in an Arnold Palmer?
In this build the tea, lemon juice, and sugar syrup are shaken together as one mix first, then the soda water is added last on top of ice. Adding the soda last preserves its fizz instead of losing it to the shaker.