All-Inclusive Beach Cocktails

Heading to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico or the Caribbean?  You’ll want to try some of these unusual cocktail concoctions while lounging at the beach or partying at the swim-up bar.

You’ve just got off the plane and hotel shuttle.  You’re tired, sweaty and frazzled, and all you can think about is a frosty margarita or pina colada by the pool.  Go ahead – enjoy!  But don’t stay in that tired old rut.  There are lots of exciting new drinks to try, and your bar bill is already paid.  Here are a few suggestions for some new refreshing beach drinks that are delicious and pretty!

Some popular fruity drinks include:

• Bay Breeze – blend of vodka with pineapple and cranberry juices
• Caribbean Rum Punch – blend of dark and light rums with lime, orange and pineapple juices and topped off with a dash of grenadine
• Bahama Mama – light and dark rum and Kahlua mixed with lemon and pineapple juices, grenadine and a wedge of pineapple
• Hurricane – light and dark rum mixed with lime, pineapple, passionfruit and orange juices and a dash of grenadine
• Sex on the Beach – peach schnapps, vodka and cranberry juice poured over orange and pineapple juices
• Paloma – tequila mixed with grapefruit and lime juice, agave syrup and club soda

Each resort may have a little different twist on these drinks, some blended with crushed ice, some on the rocks, some with fruit garnishes and fancy glassware, but all with an innocently sweet, fruity taste that tends to sneak up on you!

Eye catching drinks that you’ll want to showcase in your selfie photo album:

• Lava Flow – almost too beautiful to drink with its alternating pink and cream swirls – light rum and coconut rum blended with strawberries and layered with banana, coconut cream and pineapple juice.
• Miami Vice – think strawberry daiquiri with a pina colada on top!
• Tequila Sunrise – orange juice and tequila topped with grenadine (the grenadine sinks to the bottom, making a beautiful contrast).  Don’t stir!  Ruins the effect!
• Bumble Bee Shot – layers of Kahlua, eggnog and blue curacao, topped with pina colada
• Bob Marley (a must have in Jamaica!) – a strawberry daiquiri base with a blend of light rum, orange curacao, mango and sweet sour mix in the middle, topped with blue curacao mixed with the middle layer ingredients (yellow and blue make green)  Voila!  The Jamaican flag!

Beer lovers’ cocktails:

• Michelada – lager beer mixed with tomato and lime juices.  Serve in a glass rimmed with hot sauce and pepper spices.   Delete the tomato juice and you have a Chelada.
• Mexican Bulldog – ¾ of a glass of lager beer topped with a blended margarita

Skip dessert – have one of these:

• Dirty Monkey (awful name, delicious drink) – drizzle chocolate syrup along the insides of a glass and fill with a mixture of Kahlua, dark rum, rum cream liqueur, milk, simple syrup and banana blended with crushed ice.
• Mudslide – again chocolate syrup drizzled in a glass filled with blended vodka, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, cream and ice
• The aforementioned Lava Flow fits pretty well into this category also!

Most of these drinks can be prepared without alcohol if you are so inclined.  Special non-alcoholic drinks are Coco Solo – a coconut flavored soda and Jamaican Agua Fresca – made with dried hibiscus flowers, water and sugar.

Occasionally you may want to go rogue and get away from the resort complex to visit neighborhood bars and see what the locals drink.  Mezcal is a specially fermented tequila with a smoky vibe that can be used in the familiar margarita as well as other drinks.  Pulque is an ancient fermented ceremonial beverage made from the sap of the agave plant.  In ancient times it was reserved for high priests and royalty, but you can enjoy its unusual milky texture either plain or flavored.  For breakfast skip the coffee and try an Atole – a hot blend of water, masa, cinnamon, vanilla and cane sugar.   In the Caribbean try the native guava berry liqueur or sorrel punch. 

If relaxing on a beach or poolside sipping one of these fabulous cocktails sounds like a good idea, contact one of our Travel Leaders vacation specialists to get you on your way to a tropical paradise.