Electric Iced Tea Cocktail

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 05/13/21
An electric iced tea cocktail garnished with a lemon peel

The Spruce Eats / Margot Cavin

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

The electric iced tea is a simple variation on the popular Long Island iced tea. It's also a refreshing drink, but there's an eye-catching twist. With its brilliant blue color, you'll find it to be a fantastic addition to any party (especially around the pool or on the patio).

When you want to go from a Long Island to an electric iced tea, you'll have to make two simple changes. The first is to replace the triple sec with the "electrifying" hue of blue curaçao; both are orange liqueurs, so only the color changes. The flavor change comes when the cola is swapped out with a lighter lemon-lime soda. 

This drink is also sometimes called a Miami Beach iced tea. That should not be confused with the Miami iced tea, which is not blue and features cranberry juice.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 ounce gin

  • 1/2 ounce light rum

  • 1/2 ounce tequila

  • 1/2 ounce vodka

  • 1/2 ounce blue curaçao liqueur

  • 1 ounce sour mix

  • 1 ounce lemon-lime soda

  • Lemon peel, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make an electric iced tea cocktail

    The Spruce Eats / Margot Cavin

  2. Build the gin, light rum, tequila, vodka, blue curacao, and sour mix in a collins glass.

    A Collins glass with gin, light rum, tequila, vodka, blue curacao, and sour mix

    The Spruce Eats / Margot Cavin

  3. Add ice and stir well. Top with lemon-lime soda and optional lemon peel, if using.

    A hand pouring lemon-lime soda into a glass with ice and blue curacao-vodka mixture

    The Spruce Eats / Margot Cavin

Tips

  • As with any of the iced tea mixed drinks, there's really no need to pour your best liquor. Drink recipes like this are the exception to the "top-shelf is best" rule of the bar.
  • There is so much going on in the electric iced tea that the mix as a whole will mask any less-than-desirable aspects of the liquors you pour. This is a perfect place for your "well" liquors. That said, there are good and inexpensive brands available that are perfect for drinks like this.
  • The point is that this is a drink where you can save some cash. Even though you'll need five bottles of liquor, it actually falls into the category of "cheap" cocktails when you break down the cost of each pour.

How Strong Is an Electric Iced Tea?

While it may look like a strong drink since you're pouring not one or two, but five different liquors into an electric iced tea, it's not the strongest drink in the bar. The total amount of liquor adds up to just 2 1/2 ounces. Alcohol does make up the majority of the drink, but reality sets in when you run the numbers.

With 80-proof spirits and a 30-proof curaçao, the average electric iced tea weighs in at around 21% alcohol by volume (42 proof). The drink can be even milder if more soda is added. To put this number into perspective, this drink is stronger than the rum and Coke but significantly weaker than the Manhattan.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
219 Calories
0g Fat
16g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 219
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 5mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 16g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 4mg 18%
Calcium 2mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 16mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)