A deceptively easygoing highball that hides five base spirits — vodka, tequila, white rum, gin and orange liqueur — under a splash of cola, which tints it the amber of iced tea though there's no tea in it at all. Bright lemon and a touch of sugar round off the edges over plenty of ice, keeping it dangerously drinkable for all its formidable strength.
Garnish: Lemon Wheel
built · Highball · On the Rocks
build
Fill a highball glass with cubed ice.
add
Add the vodka, tequila, white rum, gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and simple syrup directly to the glass.
top
Top with cola until the drink takes on its signature amber, iced-tea hue.
stir
Stir gently to combine.
garnish
Garnish with a lemon wheel or slice (optional).
Who mixed it first is still argued over. Long Island bartender Robert "Rosebud" Butt said he devised it in 1972 as his entry in a triple-sec contest at the Oak Beach Inn, while Tennessee lore points to a man remembered as "Old Man Bishop," who supposedly made an earlier and very different version, built on spirits and maple syrup, in Kingsport during the Prohibition years of the 1920s. Neither story has prevailed and no single inventor is recorded, though the drink has since earned a place among the IBA's official cocktails.