Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 21
LONG
ISLAND
M O U N TA I N C U R I O S
E
TENNESSE
THE REAL HOME OF
Long Island Iced Tea
The original recipe was cooked up during Prohibition in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Jamie Cyphers says her grandma went to jail for it.
Story and photos by MARLA HARDEE MILLING
A
lways thought the recipe for Long
Island Iced Tea originated on New
York's Long Island? Think again.
They have a version of the mixed drink,
for sure, but the folks who lived on Long
Island, Tennessee, in Kingsport were decades ahead of their Northern counterparts.
Charles Bishop, known as "Old Man
Bishop," came up with the first recipe
in the 1920s, right in the midst of prohibition. In the 1940s, his son, Ransom
Bishop, put his own spin on the recipe
by adding coke and a squeeze of lemon
and lime.
Ransom's granddaughter, Jamie Cyphers, says she grew up hearing her
grandfather referred to as a "businessman." As an adult, she realizes his business was bootlegging and cards. She recalls a steady stream of people coming
to her grandparents' house for Ransom's
moonshine as well as her grandmother's
home brew.
"My mamaw is the one who went to
jail for it," said Cyphers. "She was a little
tiny woman and stayed in jail a day or so."
Cyphers says while her grandfather
had a rough appearance and unpleasant
attitude, he was quite fond of his grandchildren, and worked hard to keep them
away from the surrounding Holston River.
He feared they'd drown, or at least that's
what he told them. She now wonders if it
was to keep them from finding liquor-he
would hide it in the river out of the sight
of authorities.
The City of Kingsport is proud to be
WANT TO
MIX UP
YOUR OWN?
Here's the recipe for Kingsport's ORIGINAL Long
Island Iced Tea:
4 oz. cola
Squeeze ½ Lemon and
½ Lime
1 oz. Whiskey
½ oz. Maple Syrup
½ oz. Tequila
½ oz. Gin
½ oz. Rum
1 oz. Vodka
Jamie Cyphers, above, is the granddaughter of the man who came up
with the first Long Island Iced Tea recipe, in the 1920s.
the site of the original recipe and has recently engaged in a friendly competition
with Long Island, New York. They conducted two blind taste tests-one in Long
Island and one in Kingsport. Competitors
included bartenders at Hudson on the
Mile on Long Island and Randy Ashens
and Shane Winegar of East Coast Wings
and Grill in Kingsport. Each version of the
drink won on its home turf.
Now they're trying to decide where to
host the tie-breaking event for the BEST
Long Island iced tea, but not the title of
"original." Kingsport has that distinction
locked up since the Long Island version
wasn't created until the 1970s. The difference between the two-the New York
version includes triple sec and sour mix
while the Kingsport version has maple
syrup, whiskey, Coke, lemon and lime.
Both versions contain tequila, rum, gin
and vodka.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
21
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 8
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 10
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 12
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 14
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 18
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 66
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 67
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 68
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 69
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 70
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 71
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 72
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 73
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 74
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover4
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