Long Beach Iced Tea is a close sister to the Long Island Ice Tea Cocktail, substituting cranberry juice for cola.
The refreshing cocktail is famous for its high alcohol content, featuring a muddling of several spirits – gin, white rum, tequila, vodka and orange liqueur.
The pretty pink drink is both refreshing and tart. It’s one of our favourite cocktails to serve in the summer on a hot day.
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What Is A Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail?
The Long Island Iced Tea is a craft cocktail made with cola and 5 liquors: vodka, tequila, rum, gin and orange liqueur. The modern version of this cocktail was supposedely invented in 1972 by a bartender in Long Island, New York: hence the name. The “iced tea” refers not to tea as an ingredient, but the brown colour of the drink from the cola. A Long Beach Iced Tea swaps in cranberry juice for the cola, giving it a light pink colour and fruitier flavour.
Like the Long Island Iced Tea, the Long Beach Iced Tea is not a drink for the faint at heart. It contains 3.5 ounces of alcohol – vodka, tequila, gin and rum – but the fruity orange liqueur, lemon and cranberry juice disguise the booze.
Beware the drink is stealthy. A “standard drink” has 1.5-2oz of liquor in it, so this cocktail is somewhere between double and triple the strength. The concoction is potent and should be sipped slowly and wisely.
Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail Recipe Ingredients
This homemade Long Beach Iced Tea recipe is made with premium ingredients:
- Vodka: we suggest using premium brands like Smirnoff, Absolut or Belvedere.
- White Rum: we suggest using premium brands like Bacardi, Havana Club or Captain Morgan.
- Gin: we suggest using premium brands Tanqueray, Malfy or Beefeater.
- Tequila: we suggest using premium brands Jose Cuervo, Dobel or Patron.
- Orange Liqueur: use Triple Sec or Cointreau.
- Lemon Juice: freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a sublime acidity to the cocktail.
- Cranberry Juice: we like to use cranberry cocktail juice as it is already sweetened so you don’t have to add simple syrup.
- Lemon Wheel: garnish the Collins glass with a lemon wheel or slice before serving.
Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail Recipe Tips
This bright and floral Long Beach Iced Tea recipe is easy to make at home, ready to serve in under 5 minutes.
Our easy Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail serves one person. If you’re hosting a large gathering feel free to multiply the ingredients by the number of guests and muddle the drink in a festive punch bowl or jug rather than a cocktail shaker.
Be sure to squeeze fresh lemons and never use concentrate. You can taste the quality difference!
If you don’t want to use cranberry cocktail feel free to use unsweetened cranberry juice. It will be more bitter so be sure to add simple syrup.
An hour or two before you’re planning on serving cocktails to your guests we suggest placing the spirit bottles in the freezer so they are well chilled.
Best Bartender Tools & Cocktail Equipment
Before hosting a swanky Long Beach Iced Tea cocktail soiree you’ll need to ensure you have the best bartender tools and cocktail equipment.
- Cocktail Kit: cocktail kits are the perfect gift for newbie mixology fans as they include basic bartender tools like a jigger, shaker and spoon.
- Cocktail Shaker: a bartender’s best friend. Purchase a premium cocktail shaker to muddle or shake up your favourite pink gin cocktails.
- Cocktail Glassware: make sure your bar is stocked with a selection of unique glassware to show off your favourite cocktail creations.
- Hawthorne Strainer: this unique strainer features tightly wound coils and perforated holes. It keeps ice and other large ingredients like lime wedges in your cocktail shaker rather than in the glass.
- Bar Spoons: slender and long bar spoons are a must-have when stirring drinks.
- Bottle Opener: easily open bottles of beer or cider with the flick of your wrist or purchase a corkscrew for fine wine.
- Pouring Spout: once you’ve opened a new bottle of gin insert these affordable pourers to make cocktail assembly a breeze.
- Cutting Board: purchase a petite cutting board for your bar to slice garnishes or citrus wedges like lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit.
- Ice Bucket: chill bottles of gin quickly in an ice bucket or keep by the bar when muddling gin mixers into cool creations.
- Ice Crusher: fans of the Mint Julep love an ice crusher.
- Ice Cube Kit: we suggest purchasing a selection of ice cube trays. Silicone styles are our favourite as they’re easy to clean and are available in various shapes and sizes.
- Jigger: use a jigger to accurately measure spirits, juices, syrups and shrubs.
- Juicer: invest in an electronic juicer or buy an affordable hand-held to easily juice fresh citrus like lemons and limes.
- Muddler: fans of the Mojito love a sturdy muddler to mix mint and lime. Muddler’s are handy for any cocktail featuring ingredients that need a pounding like fresh herbs or citrus wedges.
- Citrus Peeler & Zester: adorn your craft cocktails with a thick citrus peel or finer ribbons of lime or lemon zest.
- Rimmer: Bloody Mary and Caesar lovers should outfit their bar with a handy rimmer for salting and sugaring glassware.
What’s The Difference Between A Long Beach and Long Island Iced Tea?
The Long Beach Iced Tea is like a Long Island Iced Tea, except you swap the cola for cranberry juice. It’s a tart, refreshing drink best enjoyed on a hot summer day.
Does a Long Beach Cocktail Have Any Tea In It?
The classic American drink is muddled with several spirits and is known for its high concentration of alcohol – prepared with vodka, tequila, gin, rum, and triple sec. Despite its name and appearance, the cocktail neither tastes like nor contains any tea at all—its signature pink hue actually comes from only a tiny splash of cranberry juice.
Serving Suggestions
We love serving Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktails in the summer at garden & patio parties or family backyard barbecues.
If you’re hosting friends at cocktail hour you might like to serve this drink at a BBQ with delicious summer snacks like:
- Creamy Cheesy Greek Spanakopita Dip
- Sigara Börek Crispy Turkish Feta Cheese Filo Cigar Rolls
- Spicy Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
- Mango Pico de Gallo Salsa
- Moo Ping BBQ Grilled Thai Pork Skewers
- Vegetarian Indian Grilled BBQ Paneer Kebabs
- BBQ Tavuk Sis Turkish Chicken Kebab
- Burrata Bruschetta Crostini with Tomato Chutney
- Brandy Caramelized Onion French Burger
- Thai Red Curry Prawn Burger
- Spicy Italian Pork Sausage Burgers
- Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger
You May Also Enjoy These Craft Cocktail Recipes….
- Baileys Vanilla Mint Shake Irish Cream Cocktail
- Munich Mule Cocktail
- Raspberry Moscow Mule Cocktail
- Frozen Mimosa Slushie Cocktail
- Orange Dreamsicle Cocktail
- Pineapple Screwdriver Cocktail
- French Gimlet St Germain Elderflower Gin Cocktail
- Mojito Royale Cocktail
- Pornstar Martini Gin Cocktail
- Garibaldi Cocktail Campari Orange Juice
- Mexican Cantaritos Tequila Cocktail
- Golden Dream Cocktail
- Spicy Korean Kimchi Soju Cocktail
How To Make A Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail
Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail
Equipment
- Jigger
- Collins Glass
- Bar Spoon
Ingredients
- 0.5 oz Gin
- 0.5 oz White Rum
- 0.5 oz Tequila
- 0.5 oz Vodka
- 0.5 oz Orange Liqueuer
- 1 oz Lemon Juice
- 2 oz Cranberry Juice
- Lemon Wheel garnish
Instructions
- Build the ingredients in the order they appear in a Collins glass filled with ice.
- Stir with a bar spoon.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Nutrition
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