Long Island Spiced Tea
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 14.4% ABV ∙
The Long Island Spiced Tea is a five-spirit sour built on spiced rum, gin, vodka, tequila and triple sec, shaken with lime and syrup, then topped with cola. Spiced rum's warm clove and vanilla notes ride over a brisk lime tartness, with the cola adding a fizzy, caramel-dark finish rather than pure sweetness.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 7 ingredients with ice: Spiced rum 15 mlLondon dry gin 15 mlVodka 15 mlTequila reposado 15 mlTriple sec 15 mlLime juice 30 mlSugar syrup 15 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Cola and briefly stir
- Garnish with a lime wedge on the rim
Tips
- Measure the five spirits carefully with a jigger; at equal parts, any one poured heavy will flatten the balance against the lime and cola.
- Shake the first seven ingredients hard with plenty of ice before straining, so the drink chills fully before the cola ever touches it.
- Add the cola last and stir only briefly, just enough to combine without knocking out its fizz.
History
Long Island Spiced Tea has no documented creation story of its own; it is a straightforward variation of the Long Island Iced Tea, swapping in spiced rum among its spirits and adding cola for color and fizz rather than iced tea.
The Long Island Iced Tea itself has two competing origin stories. One credits a bartender named Charlie "Old Man" Bishop in Long Island, Tennessee, during Prohibition, who mixed multiple spirits into a drink disguised to look like plain iced tea. The other, more widely repeated account holds that Robert "Rosebud" Butt invented it in 1972 at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York, as an entry in a bar contest to create a new drink using triple sec. Sources remain divided on which claim is accurate, though the New York bartending-contest story is the one most commonly cited.
FAQ
Can you make a Long Island Iced Tea with spiced rum?
Yes, spiced rum stands in for the usual white rum here, lending warm clove and vanilla notes that give this build its name.
What liquor goes in a Long Island Spiced Tea?
The five spirits are shaken with lime juice and sugar syrup, then topped with cola in a pre-chilled glass.
What is the best Long Island Iced Tea recipe?
This version follows the classic five-spirit, shake-and-cola-top method, but swaps in spiced rum for the usual white rum for a warmer, spiced edge.
