Glad You Asked: What’s the history of the Long Island iced tea?

BY JOURNAL TIMES STAFF

Thursday, May 1, 2008 11:57 PM CDT

In 1976, a bartender named Robert “Rosebud” Butt at the Oak Beach Inn of Hampton Bays, Long Island, N.Y., threw together equal parts vodka, gin, rum, tequila and triple sec, plus a little cola to give it a tea-like color. By the mid-1980s, the popularity of Butt’s invention far outweighed that of his last name.

And why do they taste so good?

The juniper berries in the gin mix with the molasses of the rum, which reacts with the agave of the tequila.

The vodka adds more liquor with neutral flavor, and you then find a chemical compound close to the same taste as regular iced tea, which all but eliminates strong alcohol flavors.

The triple sec and sour mix is the added sour.

Enjoy, but do so in moderation. Long Island Teas aren’t for the faint of heart or amateur drinkers.

Which is the largest county in Wisconsin in square miles?

Marathon County is the largest of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, with an area of 1,545 square miles. Ozaukee County is Wisconsin’s smallest county, covering 232 square miles.

This information is courtesy of the Wisconsin State Cartographer’s office, which has a Web site at

http://sco.wisc.edu

What’s the origin of the term “scot free?”

You got it right — it’s not “scott free.” And it has nothing to do with Dred Scott, the slave who sued the Supreme Court for his freedom and lost, or the Scottish people.

“Sceot” is Old English for “a tax.” Scot and lot was a municipal tax formerly levied in Great Britain on the members of a community in proportion to their ability to pay.

Someone who avoided paying this tax got off “scot free.”

Like so many phrases in our language, scot free evolved. Children who play hooky and don’t get caught and adults who talk their way out of a parking ticket are said to get off scot free.

Why haven’t the Packers ever retired Paul Hornung’s number?

Why isn’t Forrest Gregg’s 75 retired? Why isn’t Willie Davis’ 87 retired? Or James Lofton’s 80? Willie Wood’s 24 should be retired, shouldn’t it? And why the devil isn’t Jerry Kramer in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

We digress.

Retiring a number in football is a dicey proposition because rosters are so large and numbers are restricted by position.

If ever a number deserved to be retired, though, it’s Hornung’s 5. The man who some believe is the best short-yardage runner in NFL history plied his trade in Green Bay from 1957-1967.

He led the NFL in scoring three consecutive seasons (1959-61) and still holds the league single-season scoring record (176 points in 1960, a 14-game season).

He also remains the fourth-ranked scorer in team history, holds the club record for most points scored in a single game, 33, against the Baltimore Colts in 1961, and is the only player in the team’s 84-year-old NFL history to have scored five touchdowns in a single game (against the Colts in 1965).

Hornung’s also a member of both the Packers and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In July 1967, Vince Lombardi said no other Packer would wear No. 5 so long as he remained with the organization. He left for Washington 20 months later.

Quarterback Vince Ferragamo (1986), quarterback Don Majkowski (1987), quarterback Willie Gillus and kicker Curtis Barrow (1988) briefly wore No. 5 in the time since Hornung’s retirement.

Only five Packers numbers are retired: Tony Canadeo’s 3, Don Hutson’s 14, Bart Starr’s 15, Ray Nitschke’s 66 and Reggie White’s 92. Brett Favre’s 4 is scheduled to be retired Sept. 8 at the Packers’ home opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

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