Arnold Palmer 

By Lidey Heuck

Updated October 11, 2023

  • Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
10 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ cooling
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ cooling
Rating
4(104)
Comments
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Named for the eponymous professional golfer who was known to request a drink combining iced tea and lemonade after a day on the course, the Arnold Palmer has become a hugely popular American drink. While Mr. Palmer preferred a ratio that favored tea over lemonade, the drink has become more commonly known as a “half-and-half” — half tea, half lemonade. This recipe uses equal parts homemade lemonade and unsweetened black tea for a nicely balanced flavor, but feel free to adjust the ratio to your liking, using a bit more lemonade for a sweeter drink, or more tea for a slightly bitter one, Palmer-style.

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Ingredients

Yield:5½ cups (about 8 servings)

  • 3 black tea bags, such as English Breakfast 

  • 3 cups lemonade

  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced, for garnish

  • Ice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

5 grams carbs; 17 calories; 7 milligrams sodium; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the tea bags, hanging their strings over the side of the pan. Allow to steep for 5 minutes, then remove and discard the tea bags. Let the tea cool completely (about 30 minutes).

  2. Step 2

    In a large pitcher, combine the tea and the lemonade. Add the lemon slices and refrigerate until cold, or serve immediately over plenty of ice.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
104 user ratings
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Comments

JSaxby

My late uncle, an actor, raconteur and endless traveler, always claimed (insisted, convincingly) he had "invented" this drink many years before anyone started calling it an "Arnold Palmer." So, whenever we ordered one or made one or talked about one, in our family, it was a "Don Dolan."

Collier Goodlett

Put bourbon in it and you have a "John Daly"

Bob Jones

My recipe for a visually stunning Arnold: Fill a large glass with ice cubes, 2/3 full Pour lemonade in until it just begins to float the ice Very slowly, pour tea onto one of the cubes at the top Continue the slow pour until the glass is full. You end up with a lovely two-tone beverage: brown at the top, fading into yellow at the bottom. Drink with a straw so you can control the mix of lemonade and tea to your liking as you sip.

VBR

This recipe takes me back to my childhood. When I was just seven or eight, I would ride my bike down the street to the elderly Mrs. Staff’s house. She would always have a big pitcher of iced tea prepared. It was very similar to this only she would mash up a sliced lemon with a bunch of sugar before mixing it into her brewed tea. I even still have her handwritten 3 x 5 index card with her special “Mrs. Staff’s iced tea” recipe on it. I’d sit there with her for hours while she chain smoked, lighting one cigarette from the embers of the previous one. Core memory.

Martha

Correct temperature for brewing tea is 165 degrees/not boiling.

100%meow

@Martha I don’t think that’s right it needs to be boiling

John MacD

Growing up on Long Island we called it a half and half

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