PHOTO by DANIEL DE BOOM

Tipped off about Vince’s Tokyo Tea by intrepid Long Beach photographer Daniel de Boom—and figuring, quite stupidly, that the drink would have some sort of tea component, or at least be served warm—I entered the House of Hayden battling the onslaught of a cold and walked out a champ. How could a gal not be, after standing up to a beast of a drink that includes vodka, rum, gin, tequila, triple sec and Midori? Move over Long Island, see you soon Long Beach—the Tokyo Tea is by far the most ass-kickish of all the “Iced Tea” varieties I’ve tasted. Ever so slightly medicinal at first (or maybe that was just the cold talking), I liked my Tokyo best after squeezing the accompanying lemon slice and cutting through the drink with a straw for a time or two. It’s a bit sweeter that way, and once it was all over (down the hatch and such) my sore throat had been tamed into a faint scratch—some kind of wünder tonic! Then I considered ordering another. But then I reconsidered: you must be careful with a drink like this—one and done, friends. Any more than that and things could get sloppy. Unless that’s the point, in which case . . . well, it’s your liver.

HOUSE OF HAYDEN 421 E FIRST ST | LONG BEACH 90802

Tags: Drink of the Week, house of hayden, tokyo tea, your liver