Yup, another disco-age cocktail with a risque name.

It’s no longer beach weather where I live, but oranges are in season, and although you could have Sex on the Beach with store-bought orange juice, fresh juice makes it so much better, perhaps even amazing. And if you’re going to have Sex on the Beach, don’t you want it to be amazing?

Social Learning

To make four cocktails at once, you’ll need a cocktail shaker that will hold 2¾ cups plus ice and still leave enough room to allow you to shake.

Ingredients:

I always use the greater amount of vodka, because … alcohol.

While not strictly needed, Chambord is a popular addition that adds a touch of blackcurrant depth to this bright cocktail. It does have the side effect of making the drink sweeter, however. I like sweet drinks. Keep that in mind when I tell you that I don’t find this drink to be cloying with the Chambord. I love it, and for me, it’s not an option. If you prefer dryer drinks but still want to experiment with the Chambord, try cutting back on the schnapps.

lf cranberries are in season, use a few for garnish instead of the cherries. 

Expect it to take about six medium oranges to yield enough juice for four cocktails. You’ll want to strain the juice after squeezing it, because I don’t think anyone wants a pulpy cocktail. If you buy a bag of oranges for this recipe, squeeze all of them or eat the excess right away. In my experience, oranges at room temperature slip away from their prime in as little as two days after bringing them home.

Tips & Tricks

Some sources suggest that you mix the drink and pour it over ice. Others suggest that you shake it and then pour it over fresh ice. I’ve aligned my recipe with the latter approach. However, I prefer to re-use the ice from the shaker instead of pouring the shaken cocktail over fresh ice. This is apparently called “dirty ice,” and what I’m doing with it is called a “dirty dump.” (I don’t really care for either of those terms, but apparently I am not in charge of the English language.) Anyway, to “dirty dump,” start by adding ice to the glass. Then, add the drink mixture to it. After that, add more ice, if necessary, to fill the glass. Next, pour the whole thing into the shaker. Once shaken, pour the whole thing back into the glass. I like the odd shapes to the shaken ice: not quite cubed, not quite crushed.

Opening a frozen cocktail shaker can be tricky. If you find it to be, strain the drink into the glass first, so that you don’t lose it, and only then attempt to extract the ice. If you simply cannot open the shaker, you may have to resort to fresh ice in the glass.

The Backstory

Sex on the Beach (the cocktail) became popular in the late 80s. For all you boomers out there, that was nearly 40 years ago. Sex on the Beach should not be confused with actual sex on an actual beach, which was immortalized nearly 75 years ago, in “From Here to Eternity.” That’s where Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr come into this story.

If you ask me, this is a picture of a female lifeguard who is resuscitating a drowning man. Or maybe she’s a sea creature, and maybe this is the original, live-action Little Mermaid. But my elderly neighbor, who dates back to this period, assures me that I’m mistaken. What I’m sure I’m not mistaken about, though, is that this is some real acting, because sand must be getting … everywhere.  

There is no sand in the cocktail version of Sex on the Beach, which is just one of the many upsides of trying it. It also has vitamin C and antioxidants. I just don’t see a downside … except in the name. It was cute the first time I heard it, and how could it not be fun to ask the bartender for it?

“What’ll you have?” he asked…

But l’m sure it quickly becomes something like a bad, over-told joke. Maybe this is part of the reason that Sex on the Beach eventually fell out of popularity. Unfairly, though, because it’s a terrific cocktail, especially if you make it with freshly squeezed, in-season oranges. I think we should revive it, but as we do, I’d like to re-name it “From Here to Eternity,” which leaves it with a sex on the beach reference, but classes it up a bit.

Sex on the Beach, or From Here to Eternity

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. Thank you, ⌘+C. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #5 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs. 

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