Long Island Iced Teas have become very popular of late at local bars and pubs. Its name is ironic suggesting a soft drink and delivering quite the opposite. A sweet drink, it initially goes down harmlessly enough, quenching your thirst and satisfying your sweet tooth. However, after the second drink, you will become aware of a sinking feeling. It may be due to the ingredients in this 1970s invented highball.

The recipe for a Long Island Iced Tea includes ½ oz. triple sec, ½ oz. rum, ½ oz. gin, ½ oz. vodka—should we stop there? Of course not—and ½ oz. tequila. Throw in 1 oz. sour mix and cola garnished with a lemon wedge at the top of the glass and you have got a Long Island Iced Tea—something F. Scott Fitzgerald would drink at his gala parties in the Hamptons.

Variations on the theme abound. You may replace the sour mix with sweet n sour mix or with lemon juice, the coca cola with genuine iced tea for a hint of sobriety, or you may add crème de menthe. The drink has a 28% alcohol concentration which makes it as lethal as it is and popular among party-goers and bar hoppers. This is attributed to its relatively small amount of mixer.

In Europe, the sour mix is often left out. Instead, it is often mixed with liquors and coca cola alone, with lemon and lime juice, or with lime cordial. Another variation of the Long Island Iced Tea is the Purple Rain. Here, the triple sec is substituted with Chambord and the cola substituted with lemonlime soda. In The Long Beach Iced Tea, another offshoot of the Long Island Iced Tea, the coke is substituted with cranberry juice.