A day by the pool calls for a Sea Breeze Cocktail. Refreshing, light, and citrusy, this simple 3-ingredient cocktail is dangerously delicious and perfect for serving a crowd.
Looking for more thirst-quenching cocktails to serve at your pool party? Then you’ll love this Paloma Cocktail and Tropical Pineapple Cocktail!
Whether you’re sitting on the beach, by the pool, or manifesting a warm, sunny day in the middle of winter, this seabreeze drink is for you.
It’s a refreshing and easy cooler you can put together using 3 simple ingredients: vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice. Decorate your glass with a grapefruit wedge and sip away!
The seabreeze cocktail recipe was really popular during the 1980s but has vintage roots, just like a Harvest Moon Applejack Cocktail and Mint Julep. A similar recipe with gin, brandy, and lemon juice was first published in Harry Craddock’s recipe book, “The Savoy Cocktail Book”, in the 1930s. However, the version we know and love today was published in a 1960s Ocean Spray booklet to promote using cranberries in more food and drink.
This simple and easy cocktail recipe is just as delicious and refreshing as the popular version from the 80s.
It tastes just like a spiked fruit punch with its bright citrus, sweet, and tart flavors. You can always rely on the seabreeze when you need a thirst-quenching cocktail on a hot summer day!
Bay breeze vs. sea breeze cocktails
A bay breeze cocktail goes hand in hand with the seabreeze. The main difference is that a bay breeze (AKA a Hawaiian Sea Breeze) is made with pineapple juice instead of grapefruit juice.
Ingredients needed
- Vodka
- Cranberry juice
- Grapefruit juice
- Grapefruit wedge (for garnish)
How to make it
Pour the vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice into a rocks glass filled with ice. Use a bar spoon or straw to stir to combine.
Garnish each glass with a grapefruit wedge, then serve and enjoy!
Sea breeze cocktail variations
You really can’t go wrong with vodka and fruit juice. Go ahead and mix up the flavors using any of these variations:
- Bay breeze: Swap the grapefruit juice for pineapple juice.
- Winter seabreeze: Use gin instead of vodka.
- Bubbles: Serve the cocktail in a tall glass and top it with sparkling water or club soda for a fun fizz.
- Shaken, not stirred: Shake the cocktail ingredients in a cocktail shaker to add a foamy top.
- Large batch seabreeze cocktails: To serve a crowd, use the recipe card adjuster below to mix a triple or quadruple batch in a pitcher or punch bowl. Add some ice to dilute it slightly and garnish with fresh fruit.
- Garnish ideas: Instead of just using a grapefruit wedge, you can garnish each glass with a lime wedge, lemon wedge, frozen cranberries, or frozen berries.
More summer cocktail recipes
- Blackberry Bramble Cocktail
- Watermelon Vodka Cocktail
- Sparkling Ginger Pear Cocktails
- Mango Micheladas
- Grapefruit Spritz Cocktails
Did you try this seabreeze cocktail recipe?
If you loved this sea breeze drink with pineapple, I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook.
Seabreeze Drink
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces vodka
- 3 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 1/2 ounces grapefruit juice (preferably fresh squeezed)
- Garnish: Grapefruit wedge
Instructions
- Add the vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice to a rocks glass filled with ice. Stir to combine.
- Garnish with a grapefruit wedge. Enjoy!
such a vibrant photo, I was captured by it and now must have this cocktail, I’d never mixed cranberry and grapefruit juices before, nice, not sweet, as I prefer, gorgeous color too, thank you!
Thank you Sabrina!