This limoncello iced tea is a fun take on a boozy Arnold Palmer with Italian flair! Iced tea, lemonade, and limoncello combine for a perfectly sweet, simple drink for spring and summer sipping. Instructions for individual glasses or making a party-ready pitcher.

Two limoncello iced teas with straws and lemon rounds in highball glasses.

Just like a limoncello spritz, this is a fun one for the warm weather! I got this idea from a restaurant menu, though because it was in the south, this restaurant used sweet tea as the base. Not a big fan of sweet tea, I made my own version at home with my favorite unsweetened black iced tea and WOW. Hello, new favorite spring and summer sipper.

I don't usually measure when pouring myself an iced tea with lemonade, a drink culturally known as an Arnold Palmer after the golfer who liked to order it. It's widely thought of as half iced tea and half lemonade, though it seems its namesake preferred a heavier pour of iced tea relative to lemonade.

Here though a half-and-half ratio is perfect, with half being iced tea and half lemon ingredients, with equal measures of lemonade and limoncello.

While I have never tried limoncello/lemonade/iced tea with sweet tea, I find this drink to be sweetened just right from a combination of lemonade and limoncello, and think you'll appreciate the tarter contrast unsweetened tea provides.

Three Ingredients

Pitchers and bottles of iced tea, lemonade, and limoncello.

Iced Tea: Prepare your favorite iced black tea. Unsweetened tea is my preference as you'll get sweetness from the lemonade and limoncello and it's a nice contrast in flavor. Personally I'm a big fan of the Luzianne brand iced tea bags, and I prepare according to the package directions. Comes in decaf!
Lemonade: Your favorite homemade or store-bought lemonade works great.
Limoncello: This sweet Italian lemon liqueur makes a wonderful digestivo sipped on after a meal, but is an impactful component in mixed drinks and desserts, too.

Two glasses of limoncello iced tea with metal straws in them.

Making Individual Drinks

A limoncello iced tea is as simple as adding ice to a tall glass, pouring in iced tea, lemonade, and limoncello, and stirring. Lemon rounds or wedges make a perfect garnish accompaniment.

As with many drink "recipes" sip and adjust any ingredients to your taste buds. I played around with the ratio here when testing, keeping the limoncello the same at two ounces per drink, and found additional lemonade to drown out the iced tea element. However your mileage may vary!

Making a Pitcher

Because none of the ingredients are sparkling, this beverage is a good candidate for turning into a pitcher because it won't go flat. Use a pitcher that can handle 48 ounces of liquid with room to spare for stirring and moving around. Here are the measurements to serve six:

24 ounces iced tea (3 cups)
12 ounces lemonade (1 ½ cups)
12 ounces limoncello (1 ½ cups)

Refrigerate ahead of time, stir well, then pour over ice into individual glasses when serving. Ice added to the pitcher would melt and dilute the flavor.

More Warm Weather Beverages

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