Sea breeze (cocktail)
A vodka cocktail with cranberry and grapefruit juice.
The sea breeze is a vodka-based cocktail that combines cranberry and grapefruit juices. It is most often enjoyed in the summer and holds the status of an IBA Official Cocktail. The drink is built on the classic cocktail balance of strong alcohol against weak fruit juice, as well as sweet against sour flavors. It can be shaken to produce a foamy top.
A bay breeze, also called a Hawaiian sea breeze, replaces the grapefruit juice with pineapple juice. The sea breeze is closely related to the Cape Codder, which omits the grapefruit juice, and the Salty Dog, which leaves out the cranberry juice and is served with a salted rim.
The cocktail first appeared in the late 1920s, but its original recipe used gin and grenadine, not vodka and grapefruit juice. This version emerged near the end of Prohibition. By the 1930s, a sea breeze contained gin, apricot brandy, grenadine, and lemon juice. Later recipes called for vodka, dry vermouth, Galliano, and blue Curaçao.
In the 1930s, a cranberry growers' cooperative became Ocean Spray, which promoted cranberry juice as a mixer with alcohol—first with gin, then with vodka. The Cape Codder (sometimes called a harpoon) emerged as a simple vodka-and-cranberry combination, but its invention is not attributed to Ocean Spray in 1945, and the Red Devil is a separate drink. The greyhound actually predates the Cape Codder, and the Salty Dog is a variation of the greyhound, not a descendant of the Cape Codder. The bay breeze and sea breeze are later variations that built on these earlier drinks. Starting in the 1960s, breeze drinks occasionally ranked among the top ten most popular mixed drinks.
Some sources say the sea breeze, Cape Codder, and bay breeze did not become widely popular until the 1970s. This delay is attributed to a 1959 U.S. Department of Health announcement that cranberry crops were contaminated with toxic herbicides, which collapsed the cranberry industry.
Quick Facts
- Base
- Vodka
- Ingredients
- 4 cl Vodka / 12 cl Cranberry juice / 3 cl Grapefruit juice
- Served
- On the rocks: poured over ice
- Garnish
- lime slice
- Prep
- Build all ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with lime wedge.
- Drinkware
- Highball glass
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The cocktail was born in the late 1920s, but the recipe was different from the one used today, as gin and grenadine were used in the original sea breeze. This was near the end of the Prohibition era. In the 1930s, a sea breeze had gin, apricot brandy, grenadine, and lemon juice. Later, a Sea Breeze recipe would contain vodka, dry vermouth, Galliano, and blue Curaçao.
In the 1930s, a cranberry growers' cooperative evolved into Ocean Spray, which promoted cranberry juice as a mixer with alcohol, first with gin and later with vodka. The Cape Codder (sometimes called a harpoon) emerged as a simple vodka-and-cranberry combination, but its invention is not attributed to Ocean Spray in 1945, and the Red Devil is a separate drink. The greyhound actually predates the Cape Codder, and the Salty Dog is a variation of the greyhound, not a descendant of the Cape Codder. The bay breeze and sea breeze are later variations that built on these earlier drinks. Starting in the 1960s, the breeze drinks were sporadically in the top ten most popular mixed drinks.
According to some, the sea breeze, along with the Cape Codder and bay breeze, did not become very popular until the 1970s. This was because in 1959, the U.S. Department of Health stated that cranberry crops were tainted with toxic herbicides, collapsing the cranberry industry.
Reader's Guide
The sea breeze is significant as a classic highball-style cocktail that evolved through several recipe iterations over the 20th century. Its modern form—vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice—emerged from the promotional efforts of Ocean Spray, a cranberry growers' cooperative that began in the 1930s. The drink's popularity was delayed by a 1959 U.S. Department of Health announcement that cranberry crops were tainted with toxic herbicides, which collapsed the cranberry industry. According to some sources, the sea breeze did not become very popular until the 1970s. The cocktail is part of a family of related drinks including the Cape Codder (cranberry juice and vodka), the Salty Dog (grapefruit juice and vodka with a salted rim), and the bay breeze (which substitutes pineapple juice for grapefruit juice). The sea breeze is an IBA Official Cocktail and is typically shaken to create a foamy surface. Its legacy lies in its representation of the fruit-juice-and-vodka trend that became a staple of casual summer drinking.
Did You Know?
- The original sea breeze in the late 1920s used gin and grenadine, not vodka and cranberry juice.
- The sea breeze did not become very popular until the 1970s, partly due to a 1959 U.S. Department of Health announcement about tainted cranberry crops.
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