There is a major difference and it seems that only a Native of the Southeast can explain.

Iced tea (as observed everywhere outside MS) is a blend of tea that has been brewed and then had ice thrown in. Here it is called Unsweet Tea. It is decent in its own right but not like sweet tea.

Sweet tea is iced tea that has had sugar added. Easy enough right? The key is that while the tea is still hot, before ice has been added, you add the sugar. And I mean sugar, sugar subtitutes do not work.

I always have to explain that a glass of cold Iced Tea and a selection of sugar packets does not count as the makings for sweet tea. If the sugar is not added when the liquid is hot, the sugar will not dissolve and you will have tea with a layer of sugar at the bottom of the glass.

I personally drink little other than sweet tea. The way I make it does not contain all that much in the way of sugar but it is great. I dont drink much in the way of carbonated beverages, Sweet Tea is the best thing there is to drink.


As to the whiskey, it is hard to find a bar that does not have whiskey around here. Given, I live in a college town.