The Long Island Iced Tea (v. 2012a)

The drink is pictured in the
Etched Squiggle 16 oz pint glass
and is available for purchase
on the Contemporary Complements website.

We’re starting with the drink that I’ve spent the most time playing with – the Long Island Iced Tea. I’ve had more than my share of these, across a couple of continents and about any bar I’ve spent any amount of time in. Why the fascination? Well, it’s a drink with simple components – four (yes, I said four) basic alcohols, sour mix and Coca-Cola, and it’s amazing the variety of outcomes that these ingredients can yield, for good or ill.

This is the first iteration of the recipe for 2012, hence the version number above. I expect to revisit this at least annually, if not any time I make a change for the better. At the end of the article, I’ll let you know what’s next on the testing list for improvement, if you’d like to play along. You’ll note I haven’t strayed too far from the basic formula you’ll find elsewhere; I’m not out to reinvent the drink, but simply to get it as close to ideal as I can for my palate (and my wife’s palate, more importantly).

I’m going to use a musical metaphor for this drink – it’s the device I use for this drink to think about how each component works to make the drink work, and it’s a way of thinking about how I would change aspects of the drink. Whether it comes off as pretentious is your call, but it’s my way, and I’m sticking to it.

Gin: The percussive notes of the drink, adding the counterpoint to the sweet and sparking notes the other alcohols bring to the party. My wife does not like gin as a rule, but I’ve gradually demonstrated to her that the drink suffers without gin contributing its fair share to the mix.

Vodka: The bass line, all thrummy and low. As is the case with all of the specific alcohols here, I believe that a good brand will provide excellent results, results not significantly improved by doubling or tripling the price or the alcohol used. But, vodka is the one I’d be willing to stretch the rule a bit on, since if you experience headaches after a night of Long Islands, you were probably drinking crap vodka.

Triple Sec: My rhythm guitar, always grinding away underneath the flavors from beginning to end. You’ll find I cheat this up a bit, both because my wife prefers it that way, and once you start playing with the sour mix, this is a way to add not only sweet but citrus to the flavor profile. This has been my most recent significant change to the recipe (changing over to Bols 42-proof), but it’s probably the most heretical part of my recipe. That said, it works for me.

Rum: my lead guitar, my soloist, my melody that I hum along with. Rum adds sweet, it adds a touch of bite, and some low feedback notes that poke out every so often. I’m a rum guy by nature, and so I’m always looking for the rum in anything I drink, and this drink in particular.

Sour mix: I consider this the producer of the piece, providing the blending package to smooth out the rough bits, fill in the gaps, and help to keep the drink stable over time. I say “sour mix”, but you’ll be making it yourself – the only premixed sour mix allowed is premixing simple syrup with the insides of a couple dozen lemons before the party.

Coke: The packaging, art for the single, and the marketing needed to get a little attention and love for the drink. That splash of Coke is what’s needed to give it the visual appeal that the name invokes.

There’s no tequila in my Long Island, because I am not a college student looking to puke on my roommate’s bed. Tequila is an instant DNQ for me if it’s offered in a Long Island.

So, here we are, at the recipe itself:

1 oz. rum (I use Bacardi Gold) – literally dozens of rums that I have to choose from at home, and this is still my go-to for this recipe.

1.25 oz. triple sec (I use Bols 42-proof) – I prefer it to others in the price range, and haven’t found jumping up to Cointreau or Grand Marnier to give me enough results to justify it)

1 oz. gin (I use Tanquery, but have no problem with Beefeater) – Dutch-style gins are disqualified here

1 oz. vodka (I use Absolut by default, but have been known to slip Ketel One in at home for myself) – any reasonably neutral mid-value vodka should do, and I’ve used half a dozen or so successfully

2 oz. sour mix – I use an equal mix of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1:1 cold simple syrup. Take a jar, add a half-cup of sugar and a half-cup of water; shake. That’s 7-8 oz. of simple syrup; your average good lemon should give you 1.5-2 oz. of juice, so 5-6 or so lemons should do. Don’t short the lemon juice!

.5 oz. Coke – I use...uuh, yeah.

Combine; pour over ice with a lemon wedge garnish.

Current paths of investigation:

Sour mix: I’ve rejected 2:1 simple syrup for my sour mix, demarara/turbinado sugar (I use basic organic white sugar), and most other citruses beyond lemon for this drink. That said, I want to explore some of the side ingredients that are designed to thicken or froth homemade sour mix. If it affects the mouth feel of the drink positively, I’m in.

Rum: There’s always another rum, and always another excuse to find another. Demararas and darks overpower the drink for me, but white rums cause the drink to lose a touch of dimensionality. So, a gold rum, with a bit of Puerto Rico bitter, but with that hint of molasses sugar, would be the flavor profile I’m looking to meet or beat.