8 Amazing Beach Cocktail Recipes

Is there anything better than a cocktail on the beach?! I put together this list of these 8 amazing beach cocktail recipes - they're also perfect for poolside. Enjoy!

If you've been following me on Instagram for a while, you know that every summer at the Outer Banks, Charlie does a "Drink of the Day" (#DOTD) for each day we're there. He makes it first thing in the morning - it makes a big batch, and he pours everyone on our beach trip a glass. This summer, we put together a list of our favorite beach cocktail recipes so you can enjoy them on your next trip!

Charlie put together the explanations of each of these drinks, so I hope you enjoy the lame dad jokes. Let us know if you make any of these amazing beach cocktail recipes!

Day 1: Transfusions

To kick things off for the annual drink of the day, we kept things easy breezy with a golf course classic, "Transfusions," which consists of three ingredients: ginger ale, grape juice and vodka. To lighten up the drink, we used Diet Ginger Ale (brand: Canada Dry). 

Note: the key to success on day one of the beach trip is to keep it simple as the DOTD needs to be made in the tailgate of the car given we arrive around 10AM and check-in isn't until 5PM! It should also be a light (i.e., crushable) drink considering you will be in the sun all day long - important to pick something refreshing. 

Without further ado, here is the recipe we used for one batch of Transfusions:

• 2 cans of Diet Ginger Ale
• 1 ½ cups of Tito's vodka
• 1 cup of Trader Joes' grape juice
• Plenty of ice*

*Plenty of ice is a given, it is a cardinal sin of drink making to skimp on the ice. We ran out to the gas station midway through the day to pick up extra ice, allegedly to keep the frozen breast milk from thawing but we all know the real reason! 

Day 2: Pineapple-Rum Basil Rum Spritz

The second DOTD is really the first true day of vacation. No five-hour drive. You wake up in paradise and life is bliss. The entire week is ahead of you and energy is high. For those reasons, Sunday is the perfect day to get a little more ambitious with the DOTD. Really unfurl those vacation wings and take flight. "It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's super Spritz!"

This recipe involved muddling basil. You heard that right, I chopped, muddled and strained basil - like a said, ambitious! For those who are new around here, muddling is just fancy barkeep speak for smashing. After sharing, I received some helpful muddling tips worth passing along: 1) no need to chop the basil, you will quite literally smash the essence of the flavor out either way and 2) pour a little of the rum (no more than a shot) into the glass when muddling to infuse it with the essence of the basil. 

Ultimately, the basil added a really fresh, almost Mojito-like flair to the DOTD which made for a fresh flavor profile. Besides, pineapple and rum are a can't miss combination, so this would have been a tough one to mess up and is a combination worth revisiting later in the week - it is a beach trip after all!   

Overall, this was another easy drink recipe to mix together aside from the muddling (which really sounds more difficult *fancy* than it is in practice). Here is the recipe:

• 2 cans of lime seltzer
• 2 mini cans of pineapple juice
• 1 ½ cups of Bacardi white rum
• A bunch of fresh basil, muddled (and strained out)
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice or 1 lime fresh-squeezed 
• Plenty of ice

Day 3: Watermelon Tequila Spritz

Another DOTD, another Spritz. Why not run it back for Spritz and giggles? Eager to see if that Dad Joke of the Day (DJOTD) makes it through copy editing into the final print! This time around, I muddled mint instead of basil, see above for muddling tips.

The initial batch of this drink was too light on the TJ's Watermelon Cucumber Cooler, it is not as potent of a flavor as other juices (such as orange or pineapple). It was a game-time decision to add a second cup of the Watermelon Cooler, which really saved the day. The final recipe accounts for said modification:  

• 2 cans of lime seltzer
• 2 cups of Trader Joe's Watermelon Cucumber Cooler
• 1 ½ cups of Casamigos blanco tequila
• A bunch of fresh mint, muddled (and strained out)
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice or 1 lime fresh-squeezed 
• Plenty of ice

Day 4: Blueberry Vodka Lemonade ("Rocket Pop")

Simple. Delicious. Nostalgic. Three words to describe this drink. And yes, I am aware that the proper name for a rocket pop is actually a "Bomb Pop" but my childhood recollection says otherwise! This one is a real blast from the past (rocket pun intended). It legitimately tasted like the lower two-thirds of a rocket pop, which are the white and blue (and best) segments of the pop. 

The recipe takes all of sixty seconds to make and is highly batchable:

• 3 cups of Simply Lemonade Light
• 1.5 cups of Smirnoff Blueberry Vodka
• ½ cup of frozen blueberries
• Plenty of ice

Note, you could replace the ice altogether with frozen blueberries - which in addition to being ornamental are also effectively ice cubes that do not melt. Potential drawback to this strategy is that floating fruit in a drink can soak up alcohol and weaken the drink (perhaps a feature and not a drawback if you are drinking multiple batches all day long).

Day 5: Pineapple-Coconut Rum Breeze

This was one of my favorites of the beach cocktail recipes from the week. Unsurprising as I am reputed for my love of rum and this recipe has two types of rum mixed in! Remember what I said about pineapple and rum making a DOTD encore appearance? This one has a similar flavor profile to a pina colada without the heavy coconut cream and no blender required. 

Prepare to walk the plank, let's dive into this pirate-approved recipe:

• 1 bottle of coconut Bai
• 2 mini cans of pineapple juice cups 
• 1 ½ cups of Captain Morgan white rum
• ½ cup of coconut Malibu rum
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice or 1 lime fresh-squeezed 
• Plenty of ice
• Bonus: Festive tiki or coconut glasses

Day 6: Grapefruit Shandy

Let's get this out of the way, worst DOTD of the week. In fairness, it was exactly as advertised, a grapefruity beer. Yippee for skippies! One of y'all recommended adding a cup of lemonade to the mix to turn up the flavor, if inclined to try this out home, I suggest you heed their wise words. Here is the recipe:

• Three Leinenkugel Summer Shandys
• 1 cup of Deep Eddy's Grapefruit Vodka
• Ice (not a lot)

Note: Do not go heavy on the ice given this is a beer based drink. Just enough ice to keep the drink cold on the beach without watering down too much.

Day 6 Bonus: Poor Man's Juicy J

he Empire Strikes Back in this smash-hit sequel!!! A classic end of the week kitchen sink cocktail to clear out the fridge. Unlike its lame morning predecessor, this one has a really sweet flavor. Proceed with caution this DOTD do-over is extremely dangerous. Downright chuggable.

Disclaimer: given it was a last minute substitution, I did not have all the ingredients for a proper "Juicy J" (which is a drink made by our friend Jessica) hence the "Poor Man's" moniker. In fact, I have never had the name sake so this may be a groundbreaking new spin that may turn heads in the Juicy J community. Hope you all enjoy the recipe is much as we did:

• 1 mini bottles of cranberry juice 
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1 can of lime seltzer
• ½ bottle of coconut Bai
• 1 cup of Captain Morgan white rum
• ½ cup of peach schnapps
• Plenty of ice

Day 8: John Daly

On the final day of the annual OBX trip, I hit the links. This is a DOTD staple year-in and year-out and requires little introduction. Just some good old fashioned swing oil to help stay loose. All credit to John Daly for guiding me safely below 100 on the scorecard and making for a fun day on the golf course. 

Got a little wild this year, and rather than going with the flagship Arizona Half-and-Half, this time around I opted for Joe's Half-and-Half Iced Tea Lemonade to keep things interesting. Here is the recipe I used:

• 2 bottles of Joe's Half-and-Half Iced Tea Lemonade
• ½ cup of Simply Lemonade Light 
• 2 cups of Tito's Vodka
• Plenty of ice

That's a wrap, already counting down the days for OBX 2023. I hope you enjoyed this round-up of amazing beach cocktail recipes. Fear not, throughout the year I shall be mixing up the occasional DOTD to stay ready for the annual main event. As the great Michael Scott once said, "Catch you on the flippity flip!"

PS: If you're looking for one extra bonus beach cocktail recipe, have you tried our favorite America Juice yet?!