Beach Drink Ideas

RELATED THEMES:

Beach, Surfer, & Coastal Themed Party Cocktail Ideas & Recipes

Beach drinks are often fruity and colorful, but anything with a drink umbrella in it automatically becomes fun and tropical. We have compiled some cocktail suggestions in the spirit of a beach party below, including:

Pre-made Signature Drink Recipes
Mixes For Bar Service
Mixed Drink Recipes
Martinis & Up Drinks
Lulu On The Beach Jell-O Shot
Virgin Safe Sex On The Beach Recipe

The type of cocktails you serve will depend on the type and size of your party.

For cocktail parties: We recommend a pre-mixed signature drink to:

Ensure everyone's drink tastes fabulous
Control costs
Reduce time mixing cocktails

For dinner parties: We recommend martinis or a beach-themed mixed drink to:

Relax the crowd quickly and facilitate conversation and laughter during dinner
Mix in batches and reduce the time mixing cocktails
Add style and panache

For bar service: We recommend keeping it simple by:

Offering drinks with 1 to 4 ingredients
Preparing mixes beforehand, for more complicated cocktails
Not serving frozen drinks

Regardless of the type of drink you serve, rename the drink for your guest of honor, after your favorite beach, or a related current event.

Signature Drink Recipes

When choosing a signature drink, to mix in large batches the day before the party, look for the following:

A drink that will appeal to most tastes
No carbonated mixers, look for juices

If your signature drink does call for a carbonated mixer, leave the bubbles out until ready to serve. Be sure to determine the proportion of carbonated mixer to the batch of other ingredients before the party, so you know exactly how much to add to each cocktail.

In addition to the drinks below, some of the seaside concoctions listed in Hawaiian Luau and Nautical drink ideas work well with a beach theme.

Remember, do not add ice to your batches of pre-mixed cocktails, instead, pour into a glass over ice. If you have room, put your signature drink mixture in the freezer, but don't forget to defrost before the party.

Parts vs Ounces

Parts are used for mixing batches, while ounces (oz) in parentheses indicate single-serving measurements.

Parts are relative measurements, meaning the actual volume depends on how much you want to make.

Example: 2 parts vodka, 1 part lemon juice can be mixed as 2 oz vodka, 1 oz lemon juice for a small batch or 2 cups vodka, 1 cup lemon juice for a larger batch.

Parts can be any unit of liquid measure, such as ounces, cups, liters, or gallons—just keep all ingredients in the same unit.
Ounces in parentheses (oz) show exactly how much to use per drink or serving.

Example: Vodka (2 oz), Lemon Juice (1 oz) means each drink gets 2 oz of vodka and 1 oz of lemon juice.

"By serving" means the ingredient is added per drink, not mixed into the batch.

Example: Club soda (By serving) means you add club soda to each drink individually, not in the mix.

Sex On The Beach
Rename the drink after your favorite beach or the guest of honor e.g. "Sex On Smith Beach".

2 parts Vodka (1 oz)
1 part Peach schnapps (1/2 oz)
1 part Raspberry schnapps (1/2 oz)
4 parts Orange juice (2 oz)
4 parts Cranberry juice (2 oz)

Combine all ingredients the day or or the night before the party.
Serve over ice in a tulip, highball, or double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with an orange slice and maraschino cherry skewered with a toothpick.
Don't forget the drink parasol.

Sex On The Beach - Jersey Style

2 parts Rum (1 oz)
2 parts Raspberry schnapps (1 oz)
2 parts Peach schnapps (1 oz)
2 parts Midori melon liqueur (1 oz)
3 parts Pineapple juice (1-1/2 oz)
3 parts Cranberry juice (1-1/2 oz)

Combine all ingredients the day or or the night before the party.
Serve over ice in a tulip, highball, or double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry skewered with a toothpick.

Sand In Your Shorts

1 part Vodka (1/2 oz)
1 part Raspberry schnapps (1/2 oz)
1 part Peach schnapps (1/2 oz)
1 part Midori melon liqueur (1/2 oz)
1 part Triple sec (1/2 oz)
1 part Sweet & sour mix (1/2 oz)
4 parts Cranberry juice (2 oz)
4 parts Orange juice (2 oz)

Tidal Wave

1 part Gin (1/2 oz)
1 part Light rum (1/2 oz)
1 part Vodka (1/2 oz)
1 part Peach schnapps (1/2 oz)
4 parts Orange juice (2 oz)
4 parts Pineapple juice (2 oz)
As needed: Grenadine syrup (dash)

Mix all ingredients and adjust for taste.
Serve in a highball glass or double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a skewered orange or pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Hurricane

1 part Vodka (1/2 oz)
1 part Gin (1/2 oz)
1 part Light rum (1/2 oz)
1 part Gold rum (1/2 oz)
1 part Almond liqueur (1/2 oz)
1 part Triple sec (1/2 oz)
4 parts Orange juice (2 oz)
4 parts Pineapple juice (2 oz)
For color: Grenadine syrup (splash)

Mix all ingredients and adjust for taste.
To serve: Add ice to a hurricane, stemmed, or highball glass.
Fill with the pre-mixed cocktail, and garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Add a cocktail umbrella for decoration.

Mixes For Bar Service

return to top

Simplify serving complex tropical cocktails during the party by making these bar mixes ahead of time:

Pina Colada Mix

Mix about 1 cup of Coco Lopez cream of coconut for every 2 cups of pineapple juice.
Adjust for your personal taste.
Add Midori for a Melon Colada.

Pina Colada Cocktail

1-1/2 oz Light rum
4 oz Pina Colada mix

Mix ingredients and serve over ice in a stemmed or highball glass.
Garnish with a skewered pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.
Add a cocktail umbrella decoration.

Rum Punch Mix

Mix 2 parts orange juice, 2 parts pineapple juice, 1 part sweet & sour lime mix.
Adjust for personal taste.
Add grenadine to color red.

Rum Punch Cocktail

1 oz Dark rum
1 oz Gold rum
1 oz Light rum
3 oz Rum punch mix
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Mix ingredients and serve over ice in a stemmed or highball glass.
Garnish with a skewered pineapple wedge or orange and maraschino cherry.
Add a cocktail umbrella decoration.

Note: You may optionally use only gold rum for a tasty cocktail that is much faster to prepare.

Simple Syrup

Mix equal parts of sugar and water.
It is easiest to make by heating the water to dissolve the sugar.
Let it cool before using.

Sweet & Sour Mix

Also known as Sour Mix, this is typically a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and simple syrup.
However we recommend Lime Sweet & Sour Mix for rum punch, made with lime juice instead of lemon juice.

Lime sweet & sour mix is also used for making margaritas.

Mixed Drink Recipes

return to top

Ocean Breeze
A variation of the Sea Breeze to surprise your guests.

1-1/2 oz Raspberry Vodka
1-1/2 oz Coconut Rum
3 oz Cranberry juice
1-1/2 oz Pineapple juice

Combine ingredients in a highball or double-old-fashioned glass and stir.
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry on a toothpick.

Alternate: Substitute rum for the raspberry vodka for a tasty, but much less fabulous, version.

Long Beach Iced Tea
Good option for the cocktail hour before a beach dinner party.

1 oz Gin
1 oz Midori melon liqueur
1 oz Light rum
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Triple sec
Splash Cranberry juice

Combine the ingredients in a shaker and pour over ice in a highball glass.
Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Beachcomber
A classic beach cocktail.

1-1/2 oz Rum
1/2 oz Triple sec
1 oz Sweet & sour mix
Dash Grenadine syrup

Combine ingredients in a highball or double-old-fashioned glass and stir.
Garnish with a lime wedge.

Beach Cruiser

2 oz Spiced Rum
2 oz Pineapple juice
1-1/2 oz Cranberry juice

Combine ingredients with ice in a double-old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry on a toothpick.

Havana Beach Cocktail

1-1/2 oz Dark rum
2 oz Pineapple juice
4 dashes Lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist.

Orange Surfboard

2 oz Orange vodka
1 oz Coconut rum
1 oz Triple sec
3 oz Orange juice
Splash Cranberry juice

Combine ingredients with ice in a double-old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.

C.R. Sun Tan Lotion

1 oz Vodka
1 oz Rum
1 oz Peach schnapps
1 oz Pineapple juice
1 oz Cranberry juice
1 oz Orange juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker and pour over ice into a highball glass.
Garnish with an orange or pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry on a toothpick.

Lost Bikini

1 oz Rum
3/4 oz Galliano liqueur
3/4 oz Almond liqueur
1/2 oz Lime juice
2 oz Mandarin juice

Combine ingredients in a double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.

Alternate: Substitute orange juice for the mandarin juice, if you must.

Martinis & Up Drinks

return to top

Sun Kiss

2 oz Orange vodka
2 oz Citrus vodka
1 oz Orange liqueur
1/4 oz Lime juice

Combine ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake well.
Strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.

Lulu On The Beach Jell-O Shooter¹

return to top

Passing trays of Jell-o shooters make a fun party event to keep the crowd entertained.

Ingredients:

6 oz boiling water
3 oz package of pineapple gelatin
1/2 cup mandarin or orange sorbet
5 oz coconut rum

To prepare:

Pour the gelatin in a heat-proof bowl and add the boiling water, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved.
Add the mandarin sorbet, stirring until dissolved. Let cool completely.
Stir in the coconut rum until well combined. Note: The alcohol will evaporate, if you add it before the gelatin has cooled.
Pour the mixture into plastic 2 oz cups..
Chill until firm, 4-6 hours.

Variation: Pour liquid gelatin into an appropriate-sized pan to a depth of about 1 to 1-1/2 inch. Refrigerate overnight. Cut gelatin into one-inch square blocks.

Super cool way to serve: Cut oranges in half and hollow out pulp leaving the rind shell. Fill each orange-rind-half to the top and refrigerate overnight. Cut each orange-rind-half into 3 wedges and serve.

Virgin Drink Recipe

Safe Sex On The Beach

3 oz Cranberry juice
3 oz Grapefruit juice
2 oz Peach nectar

Combine ingredients in a highball or double-old-fashioned glass with ice and stir.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

¹From Party Shots: Recipes for Jiggle-iscious Fun by Mittie Hellmich.