Tokyo Iced Tea
Green, fizzy, potent.
A spin on the Long Island Iced Tea in which melon liqueur turns the drink green and lemon-lime soda replaces the cola. Fruity and refreshing on the surface, it hides five spirits.
- Long drink
- Shaken
- Glass
- Highball glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Strong
- Time
- 4 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
White rum
15 ml
-
Gin
15 ml
-
Vodka
15 ml
-
Tequila
15 ml
-
Triple sec
15 ml
-
Melon liqueur
15 ml
-
Lime juice
30 ml
-
Lemon soda
top up
Garnish
- Lemon slice
- Maraschino cherry (optional)
Proportions
How to make
- Fill a shaker with ice.
- Pour the white rum.
- Pour the gin.
- Pour the vodka.
- Pour the tequila.
- Pour the triple sec.
- Pour the melon liqueur.
- Pour the lime juice.
- Shake until chilled.
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Strain into the glass.
- Top with lemon-lime soda.
- Stir briefly.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel.
The story
Origins
LegendA story passed down, not confirmed by the sources.
The Tokyo Iced Tea began as a variation on the Long Island Iced Tea, but who invented it remains unknown. Its signature ingredient, Suntory's Midori melon liqueur, reached the United States in 1978 after being sold in Japan as Hermes Melon Liqueur. Simon Difford suggests the drink came out of the TGI Fridays chain between the late 1980s and the mid-1990s, but the company has not confirmed this; Suntory instead points vaguely to Los Angeles bartenders. The WebTender site listed it in 1997, while the earliest known printed recipe is in Paul Knorr's 10,000 Drinks (2007). It is also known as the Tokyo Tea.
Sources (3)
Taste profile
- Strong
- 4 out of 5
- Fruity
- 4 out of 5
- Sweet
- 3 out of 5
- Citrus
- 3 out of 5
- Bubbly
- 2 out of 5
