A Long Island iced tea can be a dangerous drink. It brings together five spirits and eases out the flavour with citrus and cola, making for a cocktail that’s powerful but surprisingly palatable.
They’re not for everyone; one writer’s hate letter to the drink included the sentence: “‘Long Island Iced Tea is not so much a drink as a euphemism, a cheeky moniker given to an act of mixological atrocity favored by college students and wastrels.” Which made me laugh and gains her favour in my book for using the word "wastrel". But I’d argue that the drink does have merit; it can be made well and taste quite nice, if the few I’ve tried are anything to go by.
Catchment’s GABS beer, the Long Island Iced Tea Sour, picks up on many of the elements of the drink: the bronze colour of iced tea the cocktail mimics, the sweet touch of cola, and the tang of citrus. It strays from the cocktail by being sour, hitting bitter on the back of the palate, and failing to annoy bartenders who have to serve the original drink.
Like the original, it also tastes quite nice… but it loses marks for not being targeted at wastrels.
Mick Wüst
Published June 16, 2023 2023-06-16 00:00:00
