How to Make a
Long Island Ice Tea
I was treated to an impromptu "How to Make a Long Island Ice Tea" lesson during a recent visit to some good friends on Long Island's North Fork.
Danny and Gina are excellent (very patient) hosts and are far better house keepers than these pictures suggest.
During the weekend we basically trashed Gina's kitchen 
Okay, the first step in making a Long Island Ice Tea is to get all your ingredients together.
As you can see from the picture we had enough raw material on hand for more than just this one drink.
Vodka & tonics, Woo Woos, Margaritas, beer and wine were being mixed and consumed around this counter all weekend long.
Step 2 - Carefully measure your ingredients and pour them into the mixer along with some ice.
We used the original recipe, but substituted fresh squeezed lime juice for the sour mix.
Now it's time for a good shake. Don't over do it. Shake just enough to get everything mixed together and cold, then pour into highball glasses.
At this point the concoction looks more like lemonade then ice tea, but wait...that's what the Coke is for.
Add just enough to make the drinks look like ice tea. We didn't have any real Coke so we had to use diet Coke.
There's not a lot going into the glass, so I don't think it makes a difference which one you use.
The final step - Garnish with a fresh lemon wedge and serve to eagerly awaiting guests.
By the way, drinking a Long Island Ice Tea through a straw is a bad idea. The straw not only makes it go down faster (not cool with such a strong drink), but seems to alter the flavor as well.
I think this drink is tastes better if allowed to flow past the ice cubes rather than being sucked up from the bottom.
Well that's about it folks. Just remember Long Island Ice Tea is a very strong drink. Most people will not be able to drive after having just one of these, so be careful.
Long Island Ice Tea - Main page with brief discussion and recipes.
Long Island Ice Tea History - History, recipe & more info about the Tennessee claim.
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