What’s the difference between iced tea and Long Beach iced tea? 

Both contain various alcohols, but this variation is three-and-a-half ounces of liquor split between five varieties of spirits. However, this drink doesn’t taste as powerful as it sounds. The various spirits and mixers in this drink cancel one another out, leaving a delicious taste behind. If you don’t know what’s in a Long Beach cocktail, it may knock you off your feet. That’s okay because you’re not going to be someone who doesn’t know what’s in this drink—after all, you’re here. 

This Long Beach recipe contains vodka, gin, tequila, rum, and triple sec, plus a few splashes of lemon and cranberry juice. If you’ve heard the adages about not mixing different kinds of liquors and are ready to run in the other direction, wait. This alcoholic sweet tea is deceptively palatable, and if you sip slowly, we think you’ll have a pleasant experience. You may only want to have one, though.

Preparation time: 3 minutes

Cooking time: None

Total time: 3 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients 

• ¾ ounce vodka

• ¾ ounce gin

• ¾ ounce tequila

• ¾ ounce white rum

• ½ ounce triple sec

• 1 ounce lemon juice

• ½ ounce simple syrup

• 3-5 ounces cranberry juice

Glassware 

• Highball or collins glass 

Preparation instructions 

1. Combine the first five ingredients for the Long Beach iced tea: vodka, gin, tequila, light rum, triple sec, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. 

2. Shake the liquids well and then pour the entire contents of the shaker (yes, including the ice) into a highball glass. 

3. Top up with cranberry juice and serve. You can garnish the cocktail with speared cranberries or a lemon wedge. We recommend serving it with a straw to encourage slow sipping. 

Recipe adapted from Mix That Drink.

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The best beach drinks

If 3 ½ shots of alcohol in one cocktail sounds too intense for your tastes, we understand. There are a wealth of other beachy drinks that contain far less alcohol, like sangria, or that stick to just one type of liquor. Instead of showing you how to make a classic margarita, piña colada, or Bahama Mama, we’ll give you some other cocktail recipes that feel fresh and exciting. 

Red sangria

‍Sangria is the perfect drink for a long summer afternoon outside. Unlike the cranberry juice cocktail shown above, this mix contains lots of juice and a fruit component that, over time, releases even more natural juices into the sangria. If this drink has anything in common with a Long Beach Iced Tea, aside from its color, it’s how good it tastes. Red sangria goes down smoothly, so be careful not to gulp your drink down like actual juice, even though it isn’t as strong as our other cocktails. 

To make summery red sangria, you’ll first need to prepare fresh fruit. Core and slice half  an apple and peel and split half an orange. Then, place the fruit in a pitcher and cover with a few tablespoons of brown sugar or cane sugar and three-quarter cups of orange juice. Use a large wooden mixing spoon to combine these ingredients and help the fruits start to release their juices. Add in an entire 750-milliliter bottle of red wine, and for an additional kick, an optional one-third cup of brandy. Stir again. Drop in a handful of ice and chill the sangria in the refrigerator before serving. ‍

Kentucky Buck

‍Whiskey may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of beach drinks. This spirit is most often associated with drinks that warm you to your core on a cold winter’s evening, but we think that’s limiting whiskey’s potential. 

A Kentucky Buck is a fruity beverage topped up with spicy ginger beer and served in a tall glass. To prepare this drink, muddle one strawberry at the bottom of your cocktail shaker. You can do this with a muddler if you have one in your bar kit or use the end of a wooden spoon to gently press down on the fruit in the bottom of the shaker to release flavors and aromas. Then, add in 2 ounces of Bourbon whiskey, three-quarter ounces of lemon juice, one-quarter ounce of simple syrup, and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters. Shake vigorously with plenty of ice, then strain into a tall glass over ice cubes. Top up with ginger beer and garnish with a speared strawberry or a lemon slice. 

‍Summer sour

‍Make this elegant drink for a beachside wedding or an afternoon of sunbathing at the shore. Combine 1 ½ ounce of vodka, 1 ⅓ ounces of watermelon liqueur (like Watermelon Pucker), one-third ounce of lemon juice, a splash of lime juice, a splash of simple syrup, and one egg white in a cocktail shaker and “dry shake,” which means shake without ice. Strain the drink into a rocks glass over ice cubes. If you don’t have fresh lemon and lime on hand, you can swap these two ingredients and the simple syrup for a sweet and sour mix. Finally, if you want to make a vegan version of this recipe, you can do so by swapping the egg whites for one tablespoon of aquafaba, which is the liquid in the can of garbanzo beans. Once shaken into the drink, this liquid tastes nothing like beans and will recreate the thick, foamy feel of an egg white.

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Order everything but the iced tea (since this strong cocktail doesn’t contain any) from Gopuff. They’ll pick up the five liquors you need, plus the mix and some snacks. You’re definitely going to want to have some food in your stomach before trying a Long Beach iced tea.

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