Top 10 Sunset Cocktail Recipes

So what boater doesn't relish the quient moments aboard, when the boat is safely anchored, the gear is stowed, and the sun is preparing to drop below the horizon after a full day's work. That's the time when the sky gets painted in majestic colors and the cocktail in your hand often matches the vivid hues selected for that day's spectacle. Sitting on deck watching the world go by with a tasty concoction is one of the absolute delights of cruising. Then there are the days when it's cold and wet outside. A few options to warm the cockles of your heart are included. So let's look at some popular options.

Caution:  Use only in moderation and after reaching your destination.  You do not want to create a hazard on the water and you do want to be able to wake up if you drag anchor during the night. Always drink responsibly. And remember to drink plenty of non-alcoholic beverages to stay hydrated in hot weather.  A good rule of thumb is that if you are not using the head at regular intervals, you need to drink more.  Everybody has a different threshold. Heat stroke happens quickly and unexpectedly.  Know the symptoms of heat exhaustion (confusion, headache, irritability, dry hot skin, irrational behavior, etc).   Keep a bottle of Gatorade onboard at all times for emergency rehydration if someone develops heat stroke. Water alone will not do enough, and in fact can remove electrolytes from your system if you drink too much plain water.  If you don’t have Gatorade or a similar beverage, dissolve some sugar and salt in water or fruit juice and get the person into shade.  Cooling the skin with a gentle spray of water is helpful.

#1.  Cold Beer

Reach in cooler. 
Pull out one can of beer per boater. 
Insert into tropical cozy.
Pull tab.
Drink heartily.

#2.  Dark 'n Stormy®

In honor of the Centennial Newport to Bermuda Race and care of the iboattracker Bermuda Race blog. Thanks to Ted and Jeff . 

Gosling's Black Seal Rum's "Signature Drink".


Ingredients
1½ oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum
Barritts Ginger Beer
Method
1½ oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum, top with Barritts ginger beer. Garnish with lime (optional).
Glass: Highball

Per jeffthecyclist:

“I love this part of my job!
And this hourly toast shall consist of:

Here's to the breezes that blow across the seases
It blows East, it blows West, sometimes it just blows
All we ask is that it brings the boats in safely as it pleases”

#3.  Mojito

3 fresh mint sprigs
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 oz light rum
club soda

In a tall thin glass, crush part of the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lime juice and stir thoroughly. Top with ice. Add rum and mix. Top off with chilled club soda (or seltzer). Add a lemon slice and the remaining mint, and serve. Very refreshing.

#4.  Equal Billing Rum Punch

2 oz Myer's® dark rum
2 oz Mount Gay® Barbados rum
2 oz Bacardi® white rum
2 oz Appleton® Jamaican Rum
4 oz pineapple juice
4 oz orange juice
3 oz lime juice
4 dashes Angostura® bitters
splash grenadine syrup

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Serve in four separate tall glasses.

For a nice change, try substituting mango and papaya juices for pineapple and orange. Skip the grenadine and bitters. This one usually comes out in July.

#5. Navy Grog

1/2 oz Bacardi® light rum
1/2 oz Bacardi® gold rum
1/2 oz Bacardi® dark rum
1/2 oz Grand Marnier® orange liqueur
1 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz pineapple juice

Pour liquors into an ice-filled tall glass. Add juices, shake, and garnish with an orange wedge and pineapple chunk.

#5b American Grog

1 1/2 oz dark rum
1 tsp powdered sugar
1/2 oz lemon juice
hot water

Pour into a coffee mug and fill with hot water. Stir.

Plain Grog is simply a mix 1:1 or 2:3 of dark rum (like Pusser's) and water. No juice, no ice, no sugar. Just plain grog.

#6  Bloody Aleria

1 1/2 oz vodka
4 oz V8 juice
½ tsp horseradish
squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 - 3 drops Tabasco® sauce
dash of Pickapeppa® Sauce
1 lime wedge

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Shake all ingredients (except lime wedge) and strain into a tall glass over ice cubes. Add the wedge of lime and serve with a stick of celery.

#7 ‘Allota Colada’

3 oz Appleton Rum
3 tbsp coconut milk
3 tbsp crushed pineapples

Put all ingredients into a blender with 2 cups of crushed ice. Blend at a high speed for a short length of time. Strain into a tall glass and serve with a straw and umbrella. Repeat as necessary.

This drink is named after our friend who loved them so much we could not budge him from the bar - island after island. 

Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

(Rupert Holmes)

I was tired of my lady, we'd been together too long.
Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.
So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed.
And in the personals column, there was this letter I read:

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight , in the dunes of the cape.
I'm the lady you've looked for, write to me, and escape."

I didn't think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean.
But me and my old lady, had fallen into the same old dull routine.
So I wrote to the paper, took out a personal ad.
And though I'm nobody's poet, I thought it wasn't half-bad.

"Yes, I like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
I'm not much into health food, I am into champagne.
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon , and cut through all this red tape.
At a bar called O'Malley's, where we'll plan our escape."

So I waited with high hopes, then she walked in the place.
I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face.
It was my own lovely lady, and she said, "Oh, it's you."
And we laughed for a moment, and I said, "I never knew"..

"That you liked Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne.
If you like making love at midnight , in the dunes of the cape.
You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape."

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight , in the dunes of the cape.
You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape."

#8  Almost Anything and Tonic

Lots of ice
Dose of Gin, Vodka, Rum, Tequila, or whatever is in the liquor cabinet that is not sweet or creamy
Top with tonic
Garnish with lime

Drink at will. One of the most refreshing summer drinks. Also useful for staving off malaria in the tropics (tonic has quinine!)

#9 Alex ’s 'Uncommon Cure for the Common Cold' Hot Whiskey

1 Jigger+ Irish Whiskey (Jameson)
½ cup hot orange juice

Drink while hot. Works better than chicken soup.  Often recommended in tandem with chicken soup for severe colds and flu.  Best for the spring and summer seasons in the Northeast. (I know it sounds weird but it really tastes great and feels wonderfully soothing when you have a sore throat! Plus it's got all that vitamin C that makes you feel so much better.)

#10  Hot whisky (best for cold climates and seasons or any time you catch a chill)

Per glass:

1 spoonful of honey
3 whole cloves
Good squeeze of lemon
1 jigger+ Irish whiskey ( Jameson )
½ cup hot water

Drink before it gets cold.  Guaranteed to warm you from the cockles of your heart to your frozen toes.

And if those aren’t up to snuff for you, visit the ultimate drinks recipe website at http://www.drinksmixer.com/.  They are sure to have your next favorite new recipe.

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