Sex on the Beach

Florida, 1987, and a name that did the selling

The drink was created at a Fort Lauderdale bar called Confetti, where a bartender is said to have added peach schnapps to a screwdriver-and-cranberry mix when someone asked for something fruity. What turned it into a phenomenon was the name, which carried a simple highball to the top of 1990s bar orders.

Layer by layer

An ounce and a half of vodka is the only thing keeping this from being fruit punch. Half an ounce of peach schnapps supplies the stone-fruit aroma people actually remember, and it is dosed small on purpose: more than that and the glass tastes of boiled sweets. Two ounces of cranberry juice bring tartness and the red-orange colour, two of orange juice bring body and roundness. Shaken over ice and strained onto fresh cubes, the drink lands near 11% ABV and about 200 calories.

Is the layered version worth it?

Plenty of bars build it as a sunrise: grenadine poured against the wall of the glass so it settles at the bottom, orange juice in the middle, cranberry on top. It photographs beautifully and tastes identical once stirred, so build it layered only when somebody is going to look.

What to watch

• Orange juice with pulp turns the texture gritty; strain it or buy it pulp-free.
• Shaking without ice, or shaking for three seconds, leaves a warm drink.
• Cheap schnapps at 15% ABV vanishes completely behind the juices.

Adjacent drinks

• Woo Woo — vodka, peach schnapps and cranberry only, with no orange juice. Sharper and pinker.
• As a shot — equal parts of all four, shaken and strained into a shot glass.

Does it need fresh juice?

Cranberry from a bottle is fine. Orange juice is worth squeezing, because it is a third of the drink.

Can I make a pitcher?

Yes: multiply by six, skip the shaking, and stir the mix with plenty of ice so it is already cold when you pour.