Whether or not you've been there, you've heard of Long Island for one reason or another. Actually, there are two Long Island in the United States – one is an expansive, densely populated island in southeastern New York State, the other refers to Long Island of the Holston, an island in the Holston River at Kingsport in East Tennessee. Maybe you do not quite know the two Long Islands, but you must know one of the most indelible gifts Long Island gives to the world – the Long Island Iced Tea.

Long Island Iced Tea is a type of alcoholic mixed drink typically made with vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola. The soda gives the drink the same amber hue as iced tea, and the sweetness of the triple sec calls to mind the flavor of sweet tea.

The Stories Behind Long Island Iced Tea

One story says that the drink is invented in the 1920s during Prohibition in the United States by an "Old Man Bishop" in a local community named Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee. This statement is believed by the public more. During the Prohibition era from 1920 to 1933 under the terms of the Eighteenth Amendment, all manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were prevented legally, so resourceful Americans tried their hands at cocktail-crafting. The drink's disguise as a commonplace sober beverage would have come in handy during Prohibition - its resemblance to iced tea would make it easy to sip in public. According to Old Man Bishop's recipe, a half-ounce each of rum, gin, and tequila, plus a full ounce each of vodka and whiskey, and top the five liquors with maple syrup. It is said that Bishop passed the recipe down to his son Ransom, who perfected it by adding lemon, lime, and cola during the 1940s – that's the version widely served today.

Another story holds that the drink wasn't invented until the 1970s. In this version, the bartender Robert Butt invented the Long Island Iced Tea as an entry in a contest to create a new mixed drink with the triple sec in 1972 while he worked at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York. In addition to the five main liquors, Butt added a triple sec and a splash of cola to make a cocktail that went down surprisingly smoothly, despite the fact that it had enough alcohol in it to put a horse down for a nap. Butt asserted that his creation was an instant success, with cocktail lovers around the world enjoying it since the 1980s.

In the 1960s, recipes for the Long Island Iced Tea appeared in Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook (1961) and American Home All-Purpose Cookbook (1966). It is the first time that a recipe for the spiked tea has appeared in print.

Four Variations of Long Island Iced Tea

Grateful Dead, also known as Purple Rain or Black Superman, is a great way to escape reality. The cocktail recipe includes four different spirits (tequila, vodka, gin, and rum), two liqueurs (orange and raspberry), and a hefty dose of sweet and sour mix. The spirits blend beautifully in the glass, while each liqueur adds its own dose of citrus and fruity sweetness.

Adios Motherfucker, simply called AMF drink, is considered a variation of the Long Island Iced Tea with Blue Curaçao substituting the triple sec and lemon-lime soda substituting the cola. It has a distinctive blue color similar to the Caribbean Sea, and its taste is "slightly" less exciting. The name AMF drink comes from the fact that once you have drunken it, you get high and can leave for an alcoholic trip. Kiss your ass, goodbye.

If cranberry juice is substituted for cola, the result is a Long Beach Iced Tea with a reddish color. The recipe for a Long Beach Iced Tea is incredibly simple, even if the ingredient list is a little longer than normal. It requires five partial shots of liquor, a healthy dose of sour mix, and is topped off with cranberry juice. From there, it's just a matter of stirring and sitting back to enjoy your creation.

Tokyo Iced Tea has a bright green color. Unlike Long Island, Tokyo Iced Tea uses Midori instead of triple sec and lemon-lime soda replaces Coca-Cola. Therefore, the delicious fruity flavor overwhelms the taste of alcohol.

Long Island Iced Tea is truly a delicious but dangerous drink. It isn't important which one you choose – after one or two Iced Teas, you are likely to relive your glory days or profess undying love, and then, won't remember anything the next day.