# What do you put in a Long Island?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-put-in-a-long-island/135644
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 7, 2002, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-put-in-a-long-island/135644 "2002-11-07T02:26:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2002, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-put-in-a-long-island/135644/1 "2002-11-07T02:26:48Z")
Being pretty much a beer drinker, I haven’t ordered a Long Island Iced Tea in a while, but the other day I decided to have one. It tasted odd, and I asked what they made it with. It turns out they make a LIIT without Tequila. In pressing them further, they said nobody makes LIITs with tequila. They claimed they had never heard of it as a standard, and one with Tequila is called a Texas tea, or East Coast tea.
I have a theory on this. Since a good LIIT needs all clear liquor, and clear tequila is expensive, some guy decided to stop putting it in a while ago, and it caught on. Just a quick poll to see how most people expect them to be made.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-put-in-a-long-island/135644/2 "2002-11-07T02:51:40Z")
I expect mine to have tequila in them. However, every time I try to make them at home they taste like a barrel of ass, so I’m not sure what the magical bar/restaurant trick is.
I’ve also only successfuly made drinkable Cosmopolitans once, although otherwise I’m not a bad bartender. What’s the secret?
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-put-in-a-long-island/135644/3 "2002-11-07T03:18:36Z")
My usual homemade Long Island Iced Teas (from a pretty standard bartender guide) have vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec, (with lemon juice and a little cola) but I suspect there are more recipes out there than anyone knows about. Saying that “no one” makes them with tequila is pretty silly.
I have a Three Mile Island Iced Tea variant that I like - Midori (melon liqueur), vodka, gin, and rum, plus some sour mix. Makes a bright green drink, good stuff.