The Sea Breeze Cocktail Recipe

Posted in Vodka on March 7, 2014

sea breeze

Just like its name suggests, the Sea Breeze is a perfect drink for hot summer days. It is a classic cocktail made with vodka and fruit juices and every aspiring bartender needs to learn how to prepare one. It is also an official IBA cocktail and it has a long history.

Nowadays the Sea Breeze is made with vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice, but back in the 20s when it was invented it was made with gin and grenadine. Later on, apricot brandy and lemon juice were added to the gin and grenadine mixture. The drink evolved and at some point the recipe was including vodka, blue curacao, dry vermouth and Galliano. Eventually this cocktail ended up as vodka based cocktail with cranberry and grapefruit juice. Similar cocktails appeared and they are often mistaken by a Sea Breeze. However, they are all slightly different. For instance, the Bay Breeze uses pineapple juice instead of grapefruit juice, the Salty Dog does not include cranberry juice and it is served in a salt rimmed glass and the Cape Codder does not use grapefruit juice. All these cocktails that were using cranberry juice decreased in popularity before the 70s when there were concerns that cranberry crops might be contaminated with chemicals. Once these concerns were settled, cocktails like the Sea Breeze, the Bay Breeze and the Cape Codder became popular once again.

How to Prepare the Sea Breeze

You need the following ingredients:

  • 1 ¾ oz. of vodka.
  • 3 oz. of cranberry juice.
  • 1 oz. of grapefruit juice.
  • A grapefruit slice for garnish.

It won’t take more than a few minutes to make one cocktail from the above mentioned ingredients. It is usually served in a highball glass. Put some ice cubes in the glass and then pour the vodka and the cranberry juice. Stir the contents of the glass and then top up with grapefruit juice and garnish with the grapefruit slice.

The Sea Breeze is very easy to make and it is perfect for spending a relaxing day at the beach. Some bartenders prefer to shake the ingredients and obtain a foamy cocktail.

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