Cocktail Of The Week: Long Island Iced Tea #DOTW

With my earlier posts you may have realised that if I wasn’t a fashion stylist, you would have found me behind the bar counter, handing out drinks while chugging a few down myself. (Minus the skilled juggling of course since I am prone to clumsiness.)

My this week’s cocktail post began with me wondering – does one put actual tea in a LIT? Apparently no, when you check the recipes on the internet but I wanted to twist up this classic cocktail a bit. My favourite LIT is the one made in the TGIF in Mumbai. However, the bartender was very secretive and refused to give me his recipe. So I mentally put him on my hit list and moved on to making my own favourite LIT.

Did you know that there are different kinds? There is actually something called a – wait for it – a Bullfrog. Yes, its also blue in colour. My first reaction to seeing this drink was ‘you are so pretty ‘!

So let me begin with a basic Long Island Iced Tea and I will specify the differences when making a ‘Bullfrog’. (This drink is not for the faint hearted).

Ingredients :

1. 30 ml Tequila
2. 30 ml Vodka
3. 30 ml Rum
4. 30 ml Gin
5. 30 ml Triple sec
6. 90 ml Sweet and Sour mix
7. Coca-cola as according to ones preference.
8. Ice cubes.
9. Lime Slices. (2-3)
10. 1 tea bag

For a Bullfrog, instead of Coca Cola, Sprite is required and no tea bag is needed.

Additional Ingredients –
Blue Curacao for Bullfrog.
Cut fruits for a fruity LIT – strawberry, raspberry, mandarin, blackberry…
Mint leaves (because I like them).

Recipe : Fruity LIT.

• Pour the different alcohol in a glass. Make it a large glass.
• Put in the mint leaves.
• Add the Sweet and Sour mix.
• Next goes the actual tea – 30 ml of black liquor tea.
• Top up the glass with ice.
• The Coca Cola goes in next – the requirement may vary from person to person depending on how strong one likes their drink.
• Throw in the lime slices.
• Add the cut fruits from top.
• Give it a good stir.

For the Bullfrog, do the first five steps but instead of the Coke, pour in the Sprite. Then,

• throw in the lime slices,
• add two table spoon of Blue Curacao,
• do not stir.

Just a warning – two of these should be good enough for a crazy night in!

– Bidisha