If you’re into fruity cocktails, then Sex On The Beach is about to become your new favourite. It’s sweet, easy to drink and still packs a punch, it’s got it all. With cranberry juice, orange juice, peach schnapps and vodka, it’s a straight-up mix with no fancy steps so if this sounds like your thing, you can even make it at home.
As the story goes, the cocktail got its start (and its questionable name) froma bartender called Ted who was working at Confetti’s Bar in Florida circa 1987. In tandem with a Peach Schnapps company, Ted invented the cocktail as part of a promotion to get people drinking more schnapps. Inspired by the many young tourists who were visiting for Spring break who came to Florida for late nights and wild parties, he went ahead and called it Sex on the Beach.
The only issue with this theory is that people discovered the recipe for the cocktails in the 1982 book, “American Bartenders School Guide to Drinks.” It has not been determined where the cocktail originated, but some suggest it may have been created by mixing the Fuzzy Navel (peach schnapps and orange juice) with a Cape Codder (vodka and cranberry juice). There is a take on the cocktail that adds creme de cassis, but it’s not necessary, just a question of personal taste. When combined, all the constituent parts of Sex on the Beach are accounted for.
The cocktail became staple for the 80’s and 90’s bar crowd but then with the craft cocktail renaissance of the 2000’s it fell out of fashion. Perhaps its simplicity made it undesirable or perhaps it was just the decline in demand for sweet cocktails. Sex On The Beach may not be in vogue at the bar counter, but it can be in your kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces vodka
- ½ ounce peach schnapps
- 1 ½ ounces orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 ½ ounces cranberry juice
Method
- Add the vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice to a shaker with ice and shake.
- Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice.