Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Make Me Something: Day #2 Drink #2

The Long Island Iced Tea,  a classic.  Many restaurants and bartenders claim to have been the first to invent the Long Island.  Per Wikipedia: Long Island Iced Tea, a summer drink, was first served in the mid 1970s by Robert (Rosebud) Butts, a bartender at the Oak Beach Inn, in the Town of Babylon, Long Island, New York


I used what I had, some top shelf, some not so much.

Here's what I know about Long Islands: #1. They don't have any actual iced tea in them people!  They're named as such because of their color when you mix the alcohol, sour mix and cola. 
#2. They mess you up...bad.  In my 13 years bartending, I've seen best friends fight, couples break up, unassuming sweet guys turn into total douche bags and the occasional innocent shy librarian type transform into the worst kind of Cougar.  You know the type, just a little too old to be wearing a skirt that short and a top that tight.  She's had enough liquid courage to dance, but she's not really pulling it off.  She's flashing back to her mid 20's, and assumes she still looks as such, but it's more like a hurt bird with a broken wing.  But I digress.  

Long Islands have a sweet/tart way about them that goes down easy and you don't realize what hit you, and that it was a bad idea, until it's too late...like broccoli before date night.  This recipe was next on my list and I'm not really sure what the 3-Mile has to do with it beside someone trying (and failing) at being clever.  Being that 3 Mile Island is where a nuclear meltdown happened, perhaps they're claiming this drink is "nuclear"...whatever.  Below is the classic Long Island recipe, with the exception of the bitters.  I'm seeing a lot of bitters in my list of recipes which makes me think these have all come from a European source as bitters aren't as widely used in the States. 

3-Mile Long Island Iced Tea
Shake it up with my handy dandy black metal shaker.

      Ingredients:
        1/2 oz Gin
        1/2 oz Light rum
        1/2 oz Tequila
        1/2 oz Triple sec
        1/2 oz Vodka
        Coca-Cola
        Sweet and sour
        Some dashes Bitters and Lemon

Mix all ingredients with the exception of the the last 3 in a shaker tin w/ ice.  Shake, pour into pint glass, top with cola and enjoy...but make sure your skirt is long enough if you're in public.




Ahh Yes.  Looks like tea huh?





That's my Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tasting face.


 Next Up: 3rd Street Promenade