Effortless Drinks for your next Beach Day

In concept, a day at the beach should be fully relaxing. Just you, your friends, and the sun, sand and water. In reality, there are always a thousand things to pack, a dozen things forgotten, and a whole slew of sub par convenience drinks that are shoved in a cooler last minute. These cocktails are a way to elevate your beach game. They can all be prepped the night before, poured into a bottle or a closed pitcher, and served when you hit your wavefront bliss.
Margarita

The standard/almighty/easiest of drinks to make. If you want more than just the classic, check out our Margarita Breakdown, which includes recipes for a great Skinny Margarita and batchable recipes for all of the standard Margarita versions.
Makes 1/2 Gallon
24oz Tequila
16oz Lime Juice
8oz Triple Sec
4oz Agave
12oz water
Pour into a pitcher and stir well
Last Word

This classic cocktail is a bit on the dangerous side, but its herbaceous brightness is perfect when relaxing in the sunshine. It's my go to drink when I'm sitting by the water. Just make sure you have a designated driver if you're serving these up!
side note: I know the price of Green Chartreuse can be alienating - especially in a cocktail that requires so much of it. Honestly, there is no substituting it in this drink or any other - and it's worth its weight in any drink that calls for it.
side side note: The recipe below is in oz in case you have large format bottles and need to measure from them. If you're buying fresh and want to make it easy on yourself, just buy a 375ml (pint) of Chartreuse, Maraschino and Gin and then measure the water and lime juice.
Makes 1/2 Gallon
12.5oz Gin
12.5oz Green Chartreuse
12.5oz Maraschino Liqueur
12.5oz Lime Juice
12.5oz Water
Combine and stir well
White Peach Sangria

This Sangria recipe does require a little advance time (you'll have to start it the night before) but ideally you should batch all of your beach cocktails the night before, rather than stressing yourself out when you should be relaxing surfside.
It's also infinitely customizable - I prefer white peach, but this recipe makes friends with any fruit you prefer. Personally, I'd play with some red berries in a fruity, full bodied red wine.
Makes 1/2 Gallon (plus a little extra)
2 bottles of bright white wine with a nice acidity
(think Albariño or an American Sauvignon Blanc)
12oz Grand Marnier
3oz Mathilde Peach Liqueur
6 white peaches
Core and chop the peaches, and soak them in the Grand Marnier over night
Pour all of the ingredients into a pitcher and stir
Optional: pour and top with club soda
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