An Arnold Palmer is a non-alcoholic mix of iced tea and lemonade, classically poured roughly three parts tea to one part lemonade, though many make it half-and-half. The tea's tannic edge and the lemonade's tart sweetness balance into a drink more refreshing than either alone. Named for the golfer who ordered it habitually, it is a fixture of golf clubhouses, summer porches, and American restaurant menus.
The drink is named for the American golfer Arnold Palmer, who by his own account began ordering iced tea mixed with lemonade in the 1960s, asking for it at home and at clubs near his base in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Palmer told the story that a woman at a restaurant in Palm Springs overheard him order 'the tea and the lemonade together' and asked for 'that Arnold Palmer drink,' and the name spread from there. It entered the wider public vocabulary over the following decades and was commercialized as a bottled product by the Arizona beverage company in a partnership Palmer authorized, cementing the name nationally.
Refreshing and balanced, the brisk astringency of black tea meeting the bright, tart-sweet lemonade so neither dominates. It is less sweet than straight lemonade and less drying than plain tea, with a clean citrus finish. Served ice-cold, it is the archetypal warm-weather sipper — thirst-quenching, mildly sweet, and easy to drink by the tall glass.
The drink works as a balance of opposites: black tea brings tannins and a slight bitterness, while lemonade brings acid and sugar, and the sweetness of the lemonade rounds off the tea's astringency while the tea cuts the lemonade's sweetness. The classic three-to-one ratio keeps the tea in the lead so the result tastes like tea brightened with lemon rather than diluted lemonade, but the proportion is a matter of taste. Both components are made and chilled separately, then combined over ice just before serving, so the ice dilutes both evenly and the carbonation-free drink stays clean and brisk.
Variations
The ratio ranges from a tea-forward three-to-one to a balanced half-and-half. A 'John Daly,' named for another golfer, is the spiked version, adding vodka (often citrus or sweet-tea vodka) or bourbon. Variants swap in green tea, peach tea, or limeade, and a 'half and half' on some menus means the same thing. Bottled commercial versions are usually sweetened and made half tea, half lemonade.
On the Palate
Where Arnold Palmer sits in the American flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
6 steps · 5 min
- 12 min
Brew strong black tea, chill it, and prepare lemonade from lemon juice, sugar, and water; chill that too.
- 21 min
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
- 31 min
Pour in the chilled iced tea, filling about three-quarters of the glass.
Watch outFill the glass about three-quarters with tea before topping with lemonade — keeping the tea in the lead is what makes it taste like tea brightened with lemon, not watery lemonade.
- 41 min
Top up the remaining quarter with cold lemonade.
- 51 min
Stir gently to combine, then taste and adjust the tea-to-lemonade ratio.
- 61 min
Garnish with a lemon wheel and serve immediately.
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