Life Behind Bars

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly—The Long Island Iced Tea

This episode of the award-winning podcast Life Behind Bars is all about the history and enduring popularity of the guilty pleasure the Long Island Iced Tea.

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By The Daily Beast & Noah RothbaumAug 20, 2021

Whether you love it or hate it, it’s hard to escape the Long Island Iced Tea.

The enduringly popular guilty pleasure—which calls for a potent combination of white spirits, triple sec, sweet and sour mix, and cola—was invented in a bar on New York’s Long Island for a cocktail competition. It first became a sensation in clubs and bars around the area and then across the country. Ultimately, it become one of the signature drinks of the 1970s

On this episode of the award-winning podcast Life Behind Bars, co-hosts David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum delve into the history and pitfalls of this drink, as well as what the original recipe actually called for.

So fix yourself a Long Island Iced Tea (if you dare) and listen to this episode of Life Behind Bars. Cheers!

Life Behind Bars features Half Full’s editor Noah Rothbaum and its Senior Drinks Columnist David Wondrich as they discuss the greatest bartenders and greatest cocktails of all time. It won the 2018 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for the world’s best drinks podcast.

Edited by Alex Skjong