Sex on the Beach

Sex on the Beach is likely to come to mind first if one is required to summon up the silliest of drink names, even if there are far more ridiculous (and more risqué) ones.

Its origins, which lie in the late 1970s or early 1980s—it first surfaces in 1986—are murky, although it appears to have been popularized by the wildly successful Lucy’s Surfeteria bar in New York City. There is also disagreement as to its components. Vodka and juices (cranberry, orange, pineapple, alone or in combination) always dominate, bolstered by a smaller portion of liqueur (peach schnapps, Chambord, or Midori are the usual culprits). It is invariably a highball, served over ice. What might be considered the standard recipe calls for equal proportions of vodka, cranberry juice, and orange juice, with a third as much peach schnapps—a Woo Woo, with orange juice. See Woo Woo. Ultimately, this is one of those drinks where anything that ends up sweet and juicy with a hidden kick will pass muster.

Recipe: Combine 30 ml vodka, 30 ml cranberry juice, 30 ml orange juice, and 10 ml peach schnapps into a highball glass. Serve over ice.

Croke, Karen. “Surf Bars.” New York Daily News, March 22, 1987, 12.

Regan, Gary. The Bartender’s Bible. New York: Harpercollins, 1993.

“Sex on the Breach.” CocktailDB. https://www.thecocktaildb.com/drink/12754-Sex-on-the-Beach (accessed March 11, 2021).

By: Rosie Schaap