Date of publication 11/06/2024
Colorful cocktails: Choose your favorite drink to enjoy on the beachfront
Do you prefer sweet or sour flavors? Or perhaps you enjoy drinks with a hint of saltiness? Colorful cocktails are sure to elevate and enliven your beachfront culinary adventures. The mix of natural fruits, liquors, and seasonings in an ice-filled glass instantly makes you feel like you’re on holiday. Simply pick the combination that appeals to you the most (or sample them all) and make the first toast. The rest will easily follow!
The most famous colorful cocktails
Daiquiri
The Daiquiri is one of the most famous colorful cocktails. It was created in 1896 in Cuba, on the beach bearing the same name, by American engineer Jennings Cox. To entertain his guests, Cox improvised a mix of rum, brown sugar, and freshly squeezed limes from a nearby tree. Decades later, Ernest Hemingway professed his love for it in one of his novels, solidifying its legendary status. The classic recipe offers many variations, where limes can be substituted with other fruits like strawberries or pineapple. In "The Godfather Part II," a banana variation is ordered in Havana.
Want to vacation like the stars? If you plan to visit Tenerife, consider an afternoon drink at the Iberostar Heritage Grand Mencey. This historic hotel has hosted renowned personalities from the art and film world, including Elizabeth Taylor, Sofia Loren, Joan Miró, and Julio Iglesias.
Blue Hawaiian
A blue cocktail adds a unique and visually appealing touch to your vacation with friends. The Blue Hawaiian is made by mixing blue curaçao liqueur, which is similar to triple sec, with white rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream. Served on the rocks in a hurricane glass and garnished with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries, it brings the paradisiacal beaches of Waikiki, Hawaii to mind with every sip. This delightful drink was created in 1957 by bartender Harry Yee.
Tequila Sunrise
Imagine an infinity pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea and the anticipation of a party. In Mexico, colorful cocktails are synonymous with celebration. The Tequila Sunrise, in particular, embodies Mexican customs and traditions with its key ingredient, tequila—a drink that, along with mezcal, is one of the country's most recognized ancestral elixirs. While tequila and mezcal are often enjoyed on their own, mixed drinks like the Tequila Sunrise offer a refreshing alternative, especially in the hot months. This cocktail, which blends tequila with orange juice and grenadine, was exported from Acapulco to the United States, adding a fruity twist to the classic spirit.
Bloody Mary
Are you heading to a festival and want to mix in some beach and culture? There's no better hangover remedy than a good Bloody Mary, first served in a Paris bar in the 1920s. Learning to prepare this classic cocktail could help you surprise your friends and, sip by sip, recover together from those long concert nights. The blend of tomato juice, lime or lemon, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and vodka, garnished with a celery stick and boasting a vibrant red color, provides essential minerals, vitamins, and a much-needed energy boost to keep the fun going.
Piña Colada
Some types of cocktails use exotic fruit and can help you hydrate with a sweet touch. A prime example is the Piña Colada, featuring a delightful balance of sugary and acidic pineapple, coconut cream, and rum. Legend has it that this cocktail has pirate origins, invented in Puerto Rico in the 19th century during an era of adventures and buccaneers. The first recorded mention of the Piña Colada dates back to 1922 when Travel magazine described it as: “A Piña Colada, the juice of a fully ripe pineapple – a delicious drink on its own – vigorously shaken with ice, sugar, lime, and Bacardi rum in the right proportions. What could be more exquisite, sweeter, and more aromatic?”
The most original colorful cocktails
Rainbow Paradise
As its name suggests, the Rainbow Paradise is a colorful sensory delight and a unique way to toast with grenadine, rum, blue curaçao, and pineapple juice. The ingredients are carefully layered in a tall, wide glass according to their density, creating a vibrant rainbow effect (stir before drinking to blend the flavors). It is served with crushed ice and garnished with lemon and orange slices. Enjoy it by the sea, such as at the Iberostar Waves Pinos Park hotel during your next getaway to Mallorca. Or, better yet, treat that special someone to an unforgettable experience with a buffet dinner and a colorful cocktail.
Mango Mojito
Do you enjoy food tours? Colorful cocktails that reinvent the classics, like the Mango Mojito with freshly squeezed mango, expand the universe of both color and taste. With its artistic and creative soul originating from Cuba, this drink offers much more than refreshment. Let yourself be inspired by these possibilities as you watch the sunset with this tropical combo of mango juice, lime, mint, sugar, and rum, served with plenty of frappé ice.
Sex on the Beach
The vibrant Sex on the Beach cocktail, with its unmistakable orange hue, will transport you to a tropical paradise with every sip. This cocktail is made with vodka and peach liqueur as the base, combined with cranberry juice, orange juice, and optionally, a touch of raspberry liqueur. The result is one of the sweetest and fruitiest types of cocktails, perfect to enjoy at any time of the day. If you bring it to the beach, use reusable cups and avoid single-use plastics. This small gesture helps reduce your carbon footprint while on vacation.
Blue Margarita
The Blue Margarita is a unique and easily recognizable blue cocktail. To make it, a splash of blue curaçao is added to the traditional recipe—Rita Hayworth's favorite—which combines good reposado tequila with freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice and triple sec. It's served with frappé ice and a salt-rimmed glass. This vibrant drink pairs perfectly with spicy Mexican dishes, such as Tacos al Pastor or various types of mole.
Sangrita
Finally, we recommend a non-alcoholic cocktail or mocktail for a healthy drink you might not be familiar with: the aromatic Sangrita. Sharing Mexican origins with the Margarita, its blend of acidic, salty, and spicy notes mirrors the intensity of a Bloody Mary. Sangrita is made with tomato juice, orange juice, lime or lemon juice, grenadine syrup, dried chili or hot sauce, and a pinch of salt. When traveling, opt for colorful cocktails typical of each destination, made with local ingredients to support community tourism, for instance, in regions like Mexico, where chili cultivation supports many communities. Discover more about this food philosophy at the bars and restaurants of Iberostar resorts!
