Who Invented Long Island Iced Tea

July 29, 2005April 29, 2018 B. John 283 Views Hampton Bays, long island ice tea, Oak Beach Inn, Robert Butt

The strip of land near New York City has long been a launchpad for icons of American culture, including a cocktail that carried the Long Island name to frat parties everywhere.

For such a powerful potable, the Long Island Iced Tea has a fairly short and uneventful background. Sometime around 1976, a bartender at the Oak Beach Inn of Hampton Bays, Long Island, concocted a drink from equal parts vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec, plus some cola to give it a tealike color. Robert “Rosebud” Butt was the inventor, and his drink spread quickly. By the mid-1980s, the Long Island Iced Tea was a mainstay at many American bars.

One drink not for amateurs, make sure you have a designated driver before toasting the bar with a hearty bottoms up.

B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.