Tokyo Iced Tea
An electric-green cocktail of four spirits, melon liqueur and fresh citrus, topped with lemon-lime soda.
Ingredients
- Vodka20 ml
- White rum20 ml
- Gin20 ml
- Tequila20 ml
- Melon liqueure.g. Midori20 ml
- Triple sec, adds extra citrus depth20 ml
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed20 ml
- Simple syrup (1 part Sugar, 1 part Water)20 ml
- Lemon-lime sodatop up
- Lemon, to garnish (optional)1 wedge
- Cocktail cherry, to garnish (optional)1 whole
Method
- Fill a highball or Collins glass with ice cubes.
- Add the vodka, white rum, gin, tequila, melon liqueur, triple sec, lemon juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard for 10–15 seconds, until the shaker is ice cold on the outside.
- Strain into the ice-filled glass.
- Top up with lemon-lime soda.
- Garnish with a lemon wedge and a cocktail cherry, and serve straight away.
About this drink
The Tokyo Iced Tea is a modern variation on the Long Island Iced Tea, in which melon liqueur, usually Midori, gives the drink its neon-green colour. It turned up in American bars alongside Midori's rise in the 1980s and 1990s and became a fixture of the 'iced tea' family of strong, citrus-fresh cocktails. The name refers to the Japanese origins of the melon liqueur rather than to any actual Tokyo tradition.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between a Tokyo Iced Tea and a Long Island Iced Tea?
Melon liqueur and lemon-lime soda replace the cola as the sweet, colouring part, giving the drink a green hue and a fruity sweetness instead of the dark, cola-like finish.
How strong is a Tokyo Iced Tea?
Very strong: four different spirits plus two liqueurs make it one of the most potent drinks in the catalogue, even though it tastes more of sweet soda than of alcohol. Treat it with respect.
