Freeport, Li challenges Kingsport, Tn. for naming rights to famed “Long Island Iced Tea”

FREEPORT, NEW YORK — Long Island bartenders and bar owners have declared an “act of war” against the Kingsport, Tennessee Tourism Board, after they recently issued a statement on May 9, 2018 claiming that the Long Island Iced Tea was actually created in the small southern town. The collective group of Long Islanders, who call this the “Battle of Long Island,” have issued a formal letter to the Kingsport Tourism Board declaring the challenge.

Bartenders from the famed “Nautical Mile” in Freeport, New York have challenged Tennessee bartenders to a Iced Tea Contest, with the winner securing naming rights once-and-for-all, and the loser tasked with cleaning their opponents bars and bathrooms after a evening of debauchery.

According to Long Islanders, the cocktail’s origins date back to 1972, where “Rosebud” Butt, a bartender at the Oak Beach Inn in the Hamptons, invented the concoction and called it the “Long Island Iced Tea.” Former-bartender and restauranteur Butch Yamali, a personal friend of “Rosebud,” will be on hand to discuss the pride of Long Islanders in the drink and the importance of preserving the honor of “Rosebud,” who died in 2014.

The “Nautical Mile” serves over a million Long Island Iced Teas a summer, as it remains one of the most popular drinks and a point of pride for millions of Long Islanders.

A team of bartenders from New York is expected to visit Tennessee for a Long Island Iced Tea Contest and have formally submitted a challenge in the letter below to Kingsport mayor John Clark and the Kingsport Tourism Bureau.

Read original article by Kingsport Tourism Bureau