Long Island Iced Tea Mocktail

Before you start

Despite the name, a Long Island iced tea contains no tea. It is a mix of several white spirits, orange liqueur, lemon and sugar, topped with a little cola to make it look like tea. Making it without alcohol means losing that burning, dry backbone, and simply mixing cola with lemon tastes like a soda. Here strong black tea supplies tannic grip, fresh orange juice and peel stand in for the orange liqueur, and lemon keeps it sharp.

The cola is a small top, not the base; too much and the drink turns syrupy and flat. Shake the tea, citrus and syrup together first so they are cold and slightly aerated, then add the cola on top. Taste before topping, because the sour-sweet balance is set before the cola goes in.

Ingredients

• Tea4 g (about 2 tsp loose or 2 tea bags) black tea
• 120 ml (4 oz) water — just off the boil
• Drink60 ml (2 oz) strong black tea, chilled
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lemon juice
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh orange juice
• 15 ml (½ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
• 60 ml (2 oz) cola — chilled
• 2 cups (about 300 g) ice cubes — for shaking and serving
• 1 strip orange peel
• 1 lemon wedge — for garnish

Method

1. Steep the tea in water just off the boil for 4 minutes, then strain and chill. Using two tea bags for a small volume gives the concentrated, slightly drying tea you need.
2. Fill the serving glass with ice. Twist the orange peel over the empty shaker to spray its oils inside, then drop it in.
3. Add the chilled tea, lemon juice, orange juice and simple syrup to the shaker. Fill with ice and shake for 8 seconds.
4. Strain into the ice-filled glass. Taste: it should be sharp and refreshing, a little sour before sweet.
5. Top with the cola, pouring gently, and stir once from the bottom. Add the lemon wedge and a straw.

Tips for success

• Shaking the orange peel with the drink adds the bitter-orange aroma that orange liqueur would bring.
• A Mexican-style cane sugar cola tastes less syrupy than corn-syrup brands in this drink.
• Batch the tea, citrus and syrup for a crowd, but add the cola and ice to each glass separately.

Substitutions

Black tea

A non-alcoholic gin or white rum alternative adds botanical bite closer to the original. Use 45 ml and keep 15 ml tea for color.

Cola

Diet cola keeps sweetness down; reduce nothing else. Ginger ale makes a lighter, spicier drink with a paler color.

Orange juice

Orange blossom water (2 drops) with an extra 5 ml simple syrup gives perfume without juice.

Variations

Long Beach-style

Swap the cola for cranberry juice for a pink, tart version.

Pitcher for six

Combine 360 ml tea, 135 ml lemon, 90 ml orange juice and 90 ml syrup. Pour over ice and top each glass with 60 ml cola.

Troubleshooting

It tastes like lemon cola

There is too much cola or not enough tea. Keep the cola to 60 ml and brew the tea stronger.

It is bitter and drying

The tea steeped too long. Brew for 4 minutes with more leaf rather than for longer with less.

The color is too pale

Add 15 ml more cola or use a darker Assam tea.

Storage

Brewed tea keeps up to 2 days in a covered jar in the refrigerator. Squeeze citrus the same day you use it. Once topped with cola, drink it right away.

Safety notes

Black tea and cola both contain caffeine. The amount here is moderate, but it can add up over a day; FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally linked to negative effects for most healthy adults.