Travel Guide East Asia China

Long Island Iced Tea is the perfect winter cocktail. It’s big and it contains a high concentration of alcohol. These two characteristics are a perfect blizzard for nocturnal merriment. Now, I recommend you the best Long Islands that Beijing has to offer.

1. Q Bar This beverage wins first prize on flavor alone. The price is in the same range as most of the others (RMB 50-70), but the mixing is above and beyond average. Drinking this and grooving out to Q’s entrancing beats, I almost forgot it was winter and I was drinking away my worries.
2. Bed This bar may be better known for its award winning Mojitos, but you should just take that as an indication of their superior mixological techniques. The Long Island here is superbly prepared: it not only looks, but also tastes like Iced Tea should taste. Bed has the added benefit of beds in which to enjoy tastey beverages with tasteful company.
3. Ball House For 50 kuai you get a veritable bucket of alcohol at the Ball House. It’s damn drinkable too. Combining this beverage with a strong dose of Valium may have played a role in erasing my memories of the evening, but I do recall that I enjoyed my drink and a few rounds of pool. I think I ate someone else’s fries afterwards, but we’re all friends here in Beijing… right?
4. Poacher’s A solid drink from a dependable bar. Come in out of the cold of Sanlitun’s Back Street and trade your ticket for the strongest drink you can. You get your money’s worth with the Long Island, and before you know it you’ll be dancing on the tables to the rock and reggae of yesteryear.
5. Vics None of us remember how much this one cost, but take that as a sign of its quality! Also, take it for granted that nothing within the Worker’s Stadium North Gate comes cheap. The spirits are good if you can stand the atmosphere.
6. Bar Blu If it looks blue to you, don’t worry, that’s only the lighting. This is a good drink at a great price. Only RMB 48. We’re in a recession, so every 2 kuai counts (Think of it as buy 25, get one free)!
7. Tun Ladies, this should be your go to on Friday nights. It makes the list because it was free and HUGE. Guys, this drink is a good reason to take a date to Tun, or meet a date at Tun on ladies’ night. Most recently, it kept me warm enough for midnight belly sliding on Xihai lake (somehow I made it all the way to Obiwan from Tun).
8. Propaganda Prop only makes the list because it’s the only place in town where you can get a “Long Island Iced Tea” for 10 kuai. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. Personally, I advise against anything other than beer at this house of ill repute, but don’t take my word for it. Drink at your own risk!

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