If you missed out on a long-due vacation this summer, we bet you must be planning your next summer trip already. We trust you with the checklist, but let us step in if you need help with cocktails. These beach-themed cocktails are refreshing, full of rich flavor, and easily available, all throughout summer and otherwise. Keep your flight tickets ready, and bookmark this article for when you land at your dream destination. Till then, you can try out these cocktails at home and prepare your order in advance!
6 Beach-themed Cocktails That Are A Vacay Must-try
- Cape Codder
- Mai Tai
- Salty Dog
- Blue Lagoon
- Tequila Sunrise
- Sex On The Beach
1. Cape Codder
Can you ever go wrong with vodka? The Cape Codder is a cranberry-based vodka cocktail that gets its name from the East Coast town in Massachusetts. The town is renowned for its cranberry production, and so the name. It is perfect when you’ve just returned from swimming in the ocean, and need an easy-to-go drink. There’s no shaking, stirring, or mixing involved – just pour and enjoy. Don’t believe us? Read the recipe below, and find it out yourself!
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces of vodka
- Cranberry juice, to top it off
- A wedge of lime (to garnish)
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add some ice cubes.
- Pour the vodka over ice.
- Pour cranberry juice over the vodka. Stir briefly.
- Squeeze a lime wedge, and drop it in the drink.
Also Read: Love Pink Cocktails? These 6 Barbie Cocktails Are A Must!
2. Mai Tai
Any tropical getaway is incomplete without relishing on some great Tiki cocktails. The Mai Tai has been one such popular Tiki drink that you simply can’t resist. The easy-going rum is paired with orange curaçao, citrusy lime juice, and sweet orgeat. For the unversed, orgeat is a sweet syrup primarily made up of almonds. There are added flavors of rose water and/or orange flower water. We recommend having a Mai Tai as you sit on the dimly-lit beach, and are about to have your dinner under a beachside shack.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces of white rum
- ¾ ounces of orange curaçao
- ¾ ounces of freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounces of dark rum
- ½ ounces of orgeat
- Lime wedge (to garnish)
- Mint sprig (to garnish)
Instructions
- In a shaker filled with crushed ice, add white rum, curaçao, orgeat, and lime juice.
- Lightly shake for only about 3 seconds.
- Pour it in a glass filled with ice.
- Top it off with dark rum and watch the beautiful blend of colors.
- Garnish the Mai Tai with a lime wedge and mint sprig. Serve it cold!
3. Salty Dog
Don’t worry, the Salty Dog neither has a salty personality nor a salty taste. Well, we aren’t sure about the latter, but maybe try it out yourself? The drink is apparently a modified version of the classic Greyhound – with an added salted rim. Salt in drinks like the Salty Dog, the underrated Paloma, or the Margarita isn’t just a garnish, it is a key ingredient tying all flavors together. This cocktail is a friendly one, contrary to what its name suggests (we can vouch for it), especially when you feel like dipping toes in the pool and need a companion or two!
Ingredients
- 3 ounces of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1½ ounces of gin or vodka
- Coarse salt (to garnish)
- Grapefruit slice (to garnish)
Instructions
- Spread some coarse salt on a flat surface.
- Wet the rim of a highball glass with lemon juice and dip it into the salt. Make sure the salt is rimmed evenly.
- Now, fill the glass with ice and add vodka/gin, and grapefruit juice.
- Combine the contents by stirring it gently.
- Garnish the drink with a grapefruit slice and we’re good to serve it salty!
4. Blue Lagoon
Speaking of beach themed cocktails, how can one not mention the iconic Blue Lagoon? The bright, electrifying blue color of this drink alone does the job of inviting cocktail connoisseurs to try it out. The drink, thanks to blue curaçao, looks like blue skies and seas served in a glass. The vodka acts as a firm base, with the blue curaçao and lemonade adding a much-needed refreshing flavor. It is made by either shaking and straining the liquid, or by whirring together the ingredients in a blender. Nonetheless, the result is great. Now is your cue to try and make this magical blue concoction.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces of lemonade
- 1 ounce of blue curaçao
- 1 ounce of vodka
- Lemon wheel (to garnish)
- Maraschino cherry (to garnish)
Instructions
- Add some ice into a cocktail shaker.
- Now combine vodka, blue curaçao, and lemonade into the shaker.
- Shake like your life depends on it, or until it’s well-chilled.
- Now, add crushed ice to a hurricane glass.
- Strain the mixture into the glass.
- Garnish with the maraschino cherry and lemon wheel.
5. Tequila Sunrise
This three-ingredient cocktail is like a literal sunrise in a glass. The drink was created in the rock-and-roll 70s in California, but rose to popularity when the drink caught the eyes of the members of the Rolling Stones. The band is said to have dubbed their 1972 tour as ‘The cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour’. In a long list of beach-themed cocktails, the Tequila Sunrise rises to the top with ease, given its ease of preparation and sweet, citrusy flavors. It’s your time to rock and roll with the Tequila Sunrise!
Ingredients
- 4 ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 ounces of tequila
- ¼ ounces of grenadine
- Maraschino cherry (to garnish)
- Orange slice (to garnish)
Instructions
- In a highball glass filled with ice, add the tequila first, and then the orange juice.
- Carefully pour the grenadine over the drink, and watch it as it sinks to the bottom.
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice.
- Your sunrise-in-a-drink is ready to be gulped down.
6. Sex On The Beach
We all saw it coming, didn’t we? Apart from the previous sentence being a certified ‘That’s What She Said’ moment, the overrated drink deserves due credit for being one of the most popular beach-themed cocktails out there. This salaciously-named drink is notorious for its name, but we often side-eye the combination of flavors it brings to the table. Be it a beachside rendezvous with friends, or a dance night at your beach bar, the Sex On The Beach never disappoints. The Sex On The Beach will leave you wanting for more, but won’t disappoint, unlike… nevermind! Say it out loud while ordering it, because why not?
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces of vodka
- 1½ ounces of cranberry juice
- 1½ ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ ounces of peach schnapps
- Cocktail umbrella (to garnish)
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice.
- Now combine all the ingredients into the cocktail shaker.
- Shake until well-chilled.
- Strain the contents into a highball glass over ice.
- Garnish with a cocktail umbrella and prepare yourself for some Sex On The Beach!
Also Read: Cocktails With Weird Names That You Should Try
Summing Up
Beach-themed cocktails are always a crowd pleaser, thanks to their fruity and refreshing flavors. These cocktails are great for someone who does not prefer the ‘straight up’ texture of alcohol, and crave for something more flavorful instead. Have them with delectable seafood or as they are, in a cozy gathering of friends or solo adventures on the beach. Your next vacation is about to get a notch higher, now that you got a crash course in the most try-worthy beach-themed cocktails!
FAQs
What Is Safe Sex On The Beach?
A Sex On The Beach without its usual alcohol is called a Safe Sex On The Beach. It is also popular with the name Cuddles On The Beach.
What Kind Of Alcohol Is Schnapps?
Fruit-based schnapps are flavored liqueurs made using fermented fruit such as apples, cherries, plums or pears. They are clear spirits without added sugar, and generally have 80 proof or higher.
How Do You Drink Schnapps?
Schnapps are usually consumed as after-dinner drinks. They can be had straight up due to their fruity flavors. It is best served at room temperature in shot glasses.
What Kind Of Alcohol Is Blue Curaçao?
Curaçao is a Caribbean liqueur, flavored with the dried peels of the laraha variety of oranges. These oranges are grown on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, hence the name. Blue Curaçao is technically just regular curaçao with blue coloring.
What Is A Substitute For Orgeat Syrup?
The orgeat syrup might not be the best for people with nut allergies. It can be substituted with other nut-free options like amaretto, fruit juice, or crème de noyaux.
What Is A Tiki Cocktail?
A tiki cocktail is a colorful cocktail usually made with rum, and often garnished lavishly with fruits and other garnishes like flowers.
What Drink Is Similar To A Cape Codder?
There are a lot of different drinks that combine vodka with a fruit-based liqueur or flavoring. Sex On The Beach, the Sea Breeze, and the Madras are some drinks that are similar to a Cape Codder.
Why Is It Called A Salty Dog?
The drink is a modified version of the Greyhound cocktail, with added salt rim. As the Greyhound is the name of a dog species, the Salty Dog gets its name from the added salt rim
