Arnold Palmer is a classic mocktail, perfect to cool you down at summertime BBQ’s. Or, follow directions to make a delicious spiked version.
This is the perfect chilled summer Drink that you can easily make a virgin, or boozy version of. For a sweeter version everyone can enjoy, try it with my Southern Sweet Tea and Strawberry Lemonade.
Why You’ll Love This Drink?
- Made in just a few minutes and can be an alcoholic or non-alcoholic version.
- Perfect to have at a summer cookout, by the pool, or while you enjoy a game of golf!
Sabrina’s Arnold Palmer Recipe
Arnold Palmer is a non-alcoholic drink that the whole family can enjoy together. As the story goes, the refreshing mix was invented by legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. So it’s no wonder why it’s the perfect drink for a hot summer day. This recipe also includes the spiked option so that you can make an adult version of this favorite drink. Feel free to double up the recipe and make some virgin drinks and some spiked ones so that the adults can have one version and the kids can have the other. It’s great to cool down while playing golf, enjoying an afternoon by the pool, or serving with your favorite BBQ Dinners.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 cups ice
- 1/2 cup lemonade
- 1 cup iced tea
- 2 ounces vodka , optional
- lemon slices and mint sprigs
Instructions
- Add two cups of ice to each highball glass.
- Add ¼ cup of the lemonade to each glass.
- Using the back of the spoon into the corner of the glass slowly add ½ cup of iced tea to the top of the lemonade keeping the colors separate.
- Garnish with a lemon slice and fresh mint leaves.
- Spiked: To make the drink spiked, add the vodka just before the iced tea.
Notes
Nutrition
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Note from Sabrina
If you don’t care about creating the visible layers of lemonade and iced tea, you can mix together a large batch in advance. This is a great option if you’re entertaining. For this version, fill a large pitcher or punch bowl with ice. Then add 6 cups of tea and 4 cups of lemonade. If you’re making it spiked, you can also add 2 ¼ cups of vodka. Then add thinly sliced lemons to the top of the large batch of Arnold Palmer.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Whether you’re enjoying the classic mocktail version of this ice tea and lemonade drink or the spiked version, you’ll want to serve this drink over ice with lemon and mint to garnish, in a highball glass. For a classic presentation, pour the tea over the lemonade base, using the back of a spoon to pour slowly and keep the layers separated. You can use a cocktail stirrer or straw to combine the tea and lemonade as you drink if you prefer for taste. This drink is sure to be a summertime staple.
Ingredients
- Ice: You need to make sure you have enough ice in this recipe to keep the tea and lemonade blend completely chilled. Add 2 cups of ice to each glass. If you’re using highball glasses, that should be enough to fill the glass to the top.
- Lemonade: Arnold Palmers taste best when made with freshly squeezed lemonade. You can easily pick up your favorite brand of lemonade at the grocery store. But the flavor of homemade lemonade is truly superior. Follow this easy recipe to make Homemade Lemonade with fresh lemon juice, white sugar, and water.
- Iced tea: You can brew your own iced tea or buy iced tea for this recipe. Traditionally this non-alcoholic drink is made with unsweetened iced tea because the lemonade adds plenty of sweetness to the blend.
- Vodka: If you want to make an adult version of this mocktail recipe, you can do so by adding an ounce of vodka to the lemonade and iced tea mixture. Any mid-range vodka will work well for this drink recipe.
Can this be made ahead of time?
This drink recipe is at its best when poured fresh. If you want to prep the recipe in advance, you can make the lemonade and the iced tea 3-4 days in advance. Then keep them stored separately in covered containers in the fridge. Pour the prepared ingredients over ice right before serving.
How to Store
- Serve: This drink recipe is best served right after pouring before the ice has a chance to melt. Don’t leave an Arnold Palmer sitting out for more than a few hours, or the ice will melt and water down the mocktail (or cocktail).
- Store: If you don’t finish the drink recipe, you can cover it and keep it stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. The sooner you drink it, the better the flavors will be.
- Freeze: The liquid ingredients will separate as they freeze and thaw. You can keep the mixture frozen for up to 2 months, then let it thaw before serving. However, you’ll want to stir the thawed drink before serving, so it won’t have the classic color layers that you want.
Frequent Questions
This non-alcoholic drink is named for the American golfer Arnold Palmer. According to the official Arnold Palmer website, the professional golfer often drank a mix of iced tea and lemonade to cool down after a hot day on the golf course. One day, when eating lunch at a golf club, he made his usual order. A woman sitting nearby heard the drink order and told their waiter, “I’ll have that Arnold Palmer drink.” As easy as that, the non-alcoholic beverage became an American sensation.
A spiked Arnold Palmer is the same as the classic drink except with the addition of vodka. The alcoholic version is called John Daly, named for another legendary golfer.
This depends on your preference. Traditionally the mixed drink is made with 75% iced tea and 25% lemonade. However, many people prefer the ratio to be closer to half and half, so you can increase the amount of lemonade if you prefer that.
If you want to brew your own iced tea for this recipe, you can add 2 cups of water to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then remove the water from the heat and add 3 black tea bags. Let the tea bags steep for 10 minutes. If you want sweet tea, add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar while it’s hot. Then add another 2 cups of water to the mixture. Refrigerate the tea until fully chilled.
Variations
- Spiked Arnold Palmer: To make a boozy version of the mocktail, you’ll need to add a shot of vodka. Start by adding the ice and lemonade to the cocktail glasses as usual. Then instead of adding the iced tea, pour in a shot of vodka over the lemonade. Then finish the cocktail with the iced tea. Add the garnishes and enjoy the spiked Arnold Palmer.
- Bourbon Arnold Palmer: Typically, when spiking an Arnold Palmers, people add vodka to the blend. However, another option that tastes amazing is bourbon. Before adding the iced tea, you can add an ounce of bourbon to each to each highball glass. The bourbon version also tastes great with honey syrup to go with the warm vanilla notes in the bourbon.
- More Fruit Flavors: You can add another layer of flavor with different fruit juices such as blackberry, peach, and lime. Simply add the fresh fruit juice flavor to your lemonade mix before combining it with the iced tea to make the Arnold Palmer.
- Pink Lemonade Arnold Palmer: Instead of the classic Arnold Palmer mix, you can do a fun and fruity twist with raspberry or strawberry lemonade. To make this version, you can either get store-bought pink lemonade or make homemade lemonade with sweet fruit flavoring.
Homemade Fruit Flavoring
- For this version, add ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water to a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves into a simple syrup.
- Then add ½ pound hulled strawberries (or fresh raspberries) and ½ cup water to a blender.
- Puree the mixture, then strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove solids from the fruit juice.
- Combine the simple syrup, strawberry puree, and ½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice in a pitcher.
- The pink lemonade is perfect for making bright, fun Arnold Palmers.
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Finding the perfect ratio of sweet iced tea to tangy lemonade can be tricky, but this recipe nails it. It is the absolute ultimate thirst-quencher for hot summer afternoons.
Thank you David, so thrilled to hear. And thanks for the 5 stars.