A tip of the glass to Arnold Palmer
Just like the golfing legend, the iced tea won’t be forgotten
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
He’ll be remembered forever for the legendary imprint he left on the game of golf, beyond the seven majors he won from 1958 through 1964.
But Arnold Palmer, who died Sunday at 87, left an indelible mark on the food world, too, with a drink that’s synonymous with the sport and its many club houses overlooking emeraldgreen fairways.
Known as the Arnold Palmer, the iced tea-lemonade combo garnished with a slice of lemon has quelled the thirst of many a parched golfer after a long hot day on the course. And even those who can’t tell a driver from a putter know of its refreshing charms.
The eponymous drink is standard fare at restaurants large and small, mainstream and trendy. The Outback Steakhouse chain, for instance, has a “classic” version on the menu, made with fresh-brewed Gold Peak tea mixed with country-style lemonade. The Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel, Downtown, has requests for at least five Arnold Palmers each day during lunch at Habitat, where the 50-50 blend is concocted with Royal Cup tea.
“It offers two things people love,” said Jennifer Gelormino, Habitat’s director of outlets. “You’ve got lemonade, which is super refreshing, and tea for the caffeine kick. The combination is genius.”
It’s also popular at Chelsea Grille in Oakmont, home of the famed golf club where Mr. Palmer was runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in the 1962 U.S. Open. Bartender Michelle Adamonis mixes up more than a dozen of the nonalcoholic beverages a week “and many, many more in the summer.” Hers features homemade lemonade and Lipton tea.
So how did this iconic beverage come to be? His first wife of 45 years, Winnie, made a lot of iced tea in their Latrobe home in the early days of their marriage. As he recalled in ESPN Films’ “30 for 30” documentary series, one day at lunch he had an idea to make a big pitcher of tea by adding a little lemonade to it.
“I thought, ‘Boy, this is great, babe,’ ” he said in the film, which is on his website. “I’m going to take it when I play golf.”
It wouldn’t be until years later, in the late 1960s, that he inadvertently let everyone else in on his thirstquenching secret. He was in the middle of building a golf course in Palm Springs, Calif., when at lunch on a very hot summer day, he asked the waitress if she’d do him a favor. He wanted a glass of iced tea, but could she make about one-third or a quarter of it lemonade? A woman sitting at the next table overheard his request, and she told the waitress she wanted the same thing — an Arnold Palmer. A classic drink was born.
In 2002, Mr. Palmer’s company, Arnold Palmer Enterprises, inked a deal with AriZona Beverage Co. to create a bottled version of the drink. Today, Arnold Palmer Tee comes in several flavors, including mango, peach and the original “half and half.” You also can buy the beverage in powdered mix, concentrate or liquid “water enhancer” versions.
Depending on who’s making it, an Arnold Palmer can lean heavily on the tea side or taste more like a flavored lemonade. Mr. Palmer preferred the former, insisting on two parts tea to one part lemonade.
“Iced tea has the dominant side. That dominates the drink,” he said. “And if it doesn’t, it isn’t really right.”
Following that advice, Ms. Adamonis uses a 60/40 tea to lemonade ratio in her Arnie Palmers at Chelsea Grille. (It’s only outside of his hometown of Latrobe that it’s known by the more formal Arnold.)
And if you like a stiffer drink after playing 18 holes or soaking up the sun? A vodka-infused version — originally known as an “adult” Arnold Palmer — can be had. Only it’s called a John Daly, after the hardhitting American golfer.