<P> Most variants use equal parts of the main liquors, but include a smaller amount of triple sec (or other orange - flavored liqueur). Close variants often replace the sour mix with lemon juice, replace the cola with diet cola or actual iced tea, or add white crème de menthe . Most variants do not include any tea . </P> <P> The drink has a much higher alcohol concentration (approximately 22 percent) than most highball drinks due to the relatively small amount of mixer . </P> <P> Robert "Rosebud" Butt claims to have invented the Long Island Iced Tea as an entry in a contest to create a new mixed drink with triple sec in 1972 while he worked at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York . </P> <P> A slightly different drink is claimed to have been invented in the 1920s during Prohibition in the United States by an "Old Man Bishop" in a local community named Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee . The drink was then perfected by Ransom Bishop, Old Man Bishop's son . This drink included whiskey and maple syrup, and varied quantities of the five liquors, rather than the modern one with cola and five equal portions of the five liquors . </P>

Where did long island iced tea come from