The Sea Breeze may sound like something Zack Morris ordered in Saved By the Bell: The College Years, but this easy cocktail dates back nearly a century. Some trace its origins to the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), where bartender Harry Craddock’s “Sea Breeze Cooler” mixed gin, apricot brandy, and grenadine. Others credit a midcentury Ocean Spray campaign, which helped popularize the version we know today.
The classic Sea Breeze cocktail formula is simple and summery: vodka, grapefruit juice, and cranberry juice, served over ice in stemware or a highball glass, accompanied by a grapefruit wedge. It’s easy to make, easy to drink, and endlessly refreshing.
This summer drink recipe is part of a family of easy vodka cocktails. A Bay Breeze swaps the grapefruit for pineapple juice, while a Cape Codder doubles down on cranberry and adds a lime wedge. A Greyhound is vodka plus grapefruit, hold the cran, and if you add on a salted rim, it becomes a Salty Dog.
With minimal ingredients and zero fuss, the Sea Breeze remains a warm-weather favorite nearly 100 years after its debut.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 minute
Yield
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
1½
2
2
1
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
In a long-stemmed glass filled with ice cubes, stir together 1½ oz. vodka, 2 oz. grapefruit juice, chilled, and 2 oz. cranberry juice cocktail, chilled. Garnish with 1 small grapefruit wedge.
Editor’s note: This Sea Breeze cocktail recipe was first printed in the August 1989 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our favorite recipes for the Fourth of July →