Boat Day Drink Recipes

Having drinks with friends — when done responsibly — is one of our favorite activities out on the boat. When you’re inevitably bored with beers, it’s time for cocktails! The tricky part with boating is that it’s like camping: you usually have limited resources and have to make do with whatever you have on board.

Prepping ahead can make or break your trip. Fresh tropical ingredients are always a hit out on the sandbar, but it’s difficult to take it all with you, along with a cutting board, blender, etc. To make our lives easier, we often pre-mix our cocktails that require fresh ingredients and add the alcohol and ice when we make the drinks on the boat. Do as much work at home as possible before you head out for the day. Our boat-day drink recipes require limited fresh ingredients and prep work, so they are easy to make quickly on the spot. They also allow you to throttle the amount of liquor in your drink carefully — we’re not concerned with using actual measurements — to minimize or maximize your buzz so you can be responsible, but still enjoy a good tasting beverage. (Except for maybe the Yellow Jacket. That one stings a little so be careful!)

The best advice we can give you is to be safe out there, get creative, keep it simple and always bring enough for friends!

Spicy Pineapple Margarita

Ingredients

Tequila of choice, either blanco or reposado

Fresh pineapple

Agave

Fresh jalapeño

Instructions

1. Prep your ingredients by blending chunks of pineapple with agave, water, ice and slices of fresh jalapeño. Do it shortly before leaving on the boat for best results.

2. Keep the mixture cold in an insulated cup. The colder it is, the less ice you have to mix in on the boat.

3. To mix your drink, pour over ice and add tequila as needed.

The Warbird

Ingredients

Frigate 8-year rum

Coconut water

Instructions

1. Take a few sips off the top of your coconut water. We like using Vitacoco’s 16.9-ounce cardboard bottles that are safer, easier to compact for trash, and more environmentally friendly than a plastic bottle or aluminum can.

2. Pour your rum right into the coconut water.

3. Close and shake.

4. Enjoy straight from the bottle or pour over ice.

Mexican Yellow Jacket

Ingredients

Compoveda Extra Añejo Tequila

Spicy honey

Instructions

1. Prep by making a simple syrup with spicy honey and a small amount of water. Bring it to a boil, stir for 2-3 minutes, or until incorporated. Let it cool.

2. Store your honey syrup in a bottle to bring on the boat.

3. Mix with tequila thoroughly in a cup before adding ice.

Ranch Water 

Ingredients

Casamigos Blanco or Espolon Blanco

Topo Chico seltzer

Fresh lime juice (ignore the incriminating lime juice bottle in the photo)

Instructions

1. Take a few sips off the top of your Topo Chico.

2. Squeeze fresh lime into your bottle, to taste.

3. Top with tequila.

4. Cover the bottle’s opening with your thumb and turn slowly to mix.

5. Enjoy straight from the bottle or pour over ice