Long Island Lemonade
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 13.6% ABV ∙
The Long Island Lemonade shakes four spirits with triple sec, lime and sugar syrup, then lengthens the lot with lemonade over ice. A citrus-forward, easy-drinking sip: tart lemonade and lime up front, the four spirits blending into a warm background hum rather than a sharp bite.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 7 ingredients with ice: Tequila blanco 15 mlWhite rum 15 mlLondon dry gin 15 mlVodka 15 mlTriple sec 15 mlLime juice 15 mlSugar syrup 10 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Lemonade
- Serve with a stirrer
- Garnish with a lemon wedge
Tips
- Pre-chill the glass before building — it keeps the topped lemonade from losing its chill too fast.
- Shake the spirits, lime juice, and syrup hard with ice before straining, so the mix is fully chilled before the lemonade goes on top.
- Add the lemonade last, over fresh ice, rather than shaking it — shaking it would flatten it and dilute the spirits further.
History
Long Island Lemonade is a citrus-forward variation on Long Island Iced Tea, swapping the tea-colored cola topper for lemonade so the drink comes out pale and tart rather than amber. No individual creator or bar has been documented for this version; it appears to be a bartender's riff on the older classic that circulated through recipe collections and menus rather than a single traceable invention.
Long Island Iced Tea itself has two competing origin stories. Bartender Robert "Rosebud" Butt said he devised it in 1972 at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York, as an entry in a bar contest requiring triple sec, mixing it with vodka, gin, rum, tequila, lemon juice, and a splash of cola for color. Tourism boosters in Kingsport, Tennessee counter that a bootlegger called Charlie "Old Man" Bishop mixed a similar-looking, whiskey-based drink there during Prohibition in the 1920s, later modified by his son with citrus and cola. Long Island Lemonade keeps the five-spirit base of the New York version but replaces the cola with lemonade, brightening the color and flavor while dropping the drink's namesake tea-like disguise.
FAQ
How do you make a Long Island Lemonade?
Shake tequila, white rum, gin, vodka, triple sec, fresh lime juice, and sugar syrup together with ice, then strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with lemonade, stir briefly with a stirrer, and garnish with a lemon wedge.
What liquor is in a Long Island Lemonade?
It contains four base spirits — tequila blanco, white rum, London dry gin, and vodka — alongside triple sec, with lemonade topping it off for that citrusy finish.
How much lime juice is in a Long Island Lemonade?
This build uses a small, equal splash of fresh lime juice alongside each of the four spirits, shaken in before the drink is topped with lemonade rather than cola.
Is a Long Island Lemonade the same as a Long Island Iced Tea?
No, the two are close cousins rather than the same drink. Both share the same four-spirit base plus triple sec, but the Iced Tea is topped with cola while this one is topped with lemonade and finished with a lemon wedge.
