In this variation, you find one major difference (which can obviously improve any gin cocktail recipe), using only premium ingredients and spirits. Don’t be surprised what a difference this can make!

Here’s another variation that adjusts the taste just a touch but dramatically alters the overall appearance. The good thing about using all clear spirits is you can add just a splash of color and you’ll instantly have what appears to be a new drink. With the Long Beach Iced Tea you’re taking out the cola (or the Blue Curacao, in the case of the Blue Long Island Ice Tea), and using cranberry. With the cranberry, this cocktail has a decisively tarter taste to it, but if you’re a cranberry fan this is worth checking out.

It becomes almost a guessing game as to what the mixture will be when you hear the name. However, if you’re going to someplace tropical and expecting a widely different drink from the regular Long Island you will be disappointed. That is because the Caribbean Ice Tea is exactly the same as the Long Island Ice Tea. The only difference here is there is no cola used on top (which means there usually is a bit more sweet and sour mix), and the cocktail is served in a hurricane glass instead of a Collins glass. Other than this, it’s the same cocktail.

This Long Island variation doesn’t taste all that different from the regular. In fact, it is actually less sweet and a bit stronger (if you can imagine that). Many now have a tendency to look at blue cocktails and think of a sweet blue raspberry, but that is not the case with the Blue Long Island Iced Tea. Instead, you’re swapping out the cola for a Blue Curacao liqueur, which is an orange-flavored liqueur (it just happens to look blue). So it’s more of a cosmetic alteration than anything else. But it does look nicer than the muddled brown appearance of the regular version as you’re removing the cola.

You’ve had a cocktail version from Long Island, New York, and a cocktail version from Long Beach, California, so naturally you’ll have one for Miami. This one does build off of what the Long Beach version has already done. However, it takes out the tequila and brings in peach schnapps. It also keeps the cranberry juice but is topped with a lemon-lime soda instead of the cola. As you can see with every variation you’re starting to move a little bit further away from the original taste. The peach and rum work exceptionally well with this one, and it does take out the vodka to make room for it, so you’re not just adding more and more liquors (although the peach schnapps has less alcohol so the kick is slightly reduced with the Miami Iced Tea).

Often when it comes to these variations of the Long Island Iced Tea you can guess where it is from based on the new juice added to it. The Hawaiian Iced Tea uses the same spirit combination but now swaps in pineapple juice for the lime juice. There is also no cola, so the cocktail has an orange-gold appearance. Of course, if you like the bit of carbonation in your cocktail you can add a splash of lemon-lime soda on top.

In terms of great looking cocktail, this might be the best of the bunch. It has just enough blue to give it a lightning appearance. In terms of taste, it is nearly identical to the Blue Long Island Iced Tea. The main difference with the Electric Iced Tea is it uses lemon-lime soda instead of cola. So minus the splash of soda on top, there isn’t any other difference between the cocktails.

Now you’re playing with fire when it comes to the Texas Tea recipe. This makes the first real bold spirit addition of any of the other cocktail variations. It keeps the sweet and sour and cola top, but now it brings bourbon into the cocktail. Now, if you wanted to you could go with the metal aged bourbon, which is clear, just like the other cocktails. Or, if you want to bring in some of the sweeter, oak taste of a barrel aged bourbon, you’ll be adding a shade of brown (which will mix with the cola topper). If you want the full flavor of bourbon in this variation, it’s best to go with the barrel aged option to make Texas Tea.