Sex on the Beach Drink: Fruity Low Carb Summer Cocktail

Sex on the Beach drink is a fruity, sweet cocktail that is perfect for, well, a beach. The rumors are that it was created in Florida in the late 1980s. The normal version has vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice, and orange juice. Also known as, lots of sugary carbs.

My low carb version of the recipe is just as yummy but without those sugary carbs. Tropical flavors of cranberry and peach are blended together. Splashed with a little club soda for sparkle makes this an easy, refreshing, beach cocktail. And no, no cranberry juice, orange juice, or pineapple juice as is usually found in most beach type cocktails.

For this recipe you’ll need: vodka, cranberry vodka, peach vodka, Mio Energy Tropical Fusion water enhancer, club soda, lime slices, and ice. Sorry, no maraschino cherry. But you can add a little cocktail umbrella for color without the carbs.

If you are in a hurry, feel free to Jump to the Recipe

Last summer I created a popular low carb version of Sex in the Driveway. It’s a gorgeous blue drink that is so good you just feel like you might be on a cruise or something. This year I wanted to make a Sex on the Beach drink to go along with it. That proved to be more difficult than I thought it would be! Many of items on the ingredient list for the regular Sex on the Beach cocktail are pretty high in carbs. LIke orange juice. Super sugary. Yuck.

However, after several not so tasty failures, I am happy to report that I prevailed in redoing this classic cocktail.

This tropical flavored cocktail doesn’t taste like a diet drink or a low carb drink at all. The flavor of the fruit is all there and the sparkle from the club soda gives it a nice little kick. In case you are (or want to avoid becoming) diabetic, this cocktail has 0 carbs. This is because we’ll be using flavored vodka and 0 carb water enhancer to mimic the fruit juice. Smirnoff flavored vodka is 0 carb but if you decide to use a different brand be sure and check to make sure that it is also carb-free.

The best water enhancer that I’ve found that has the right flavor is the Mio Energy Tropical Fusion. There isn’t really a substitute for this. You’ll have to decide how much is right for your tastes – it’s hard to measure an exact squirt of the stuff. I’d suggest adding it a few drops at a time until the flavor is exactly as you like it.

I use Mio Water Enhancer flavors quite a lot in my low carb cocktails and if you can’t find them locally it’s more cost effective to buy them in a batch. Flavors include the Tropical Fusion you need for the Sex on the Beach drink as well as Green Thunder, Wicked Blue Citrus, and Strawberry Pineapple.

Sex on the Beach Drink Recipe

I’m not a bartender so I don’t use a cocktail shaker or a highball glass for this recipe. I found a wine glass or other glass that will fit lots of ice (it’s been over 100 degrees for weeks lately) will work.

For color, you can add a lime slice, a lemon slice, or a strawberry. This will take this summer cocktail to the next level. Is it the perfect cocktail? Please let me know in the comments !

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Click on the image to see the recipe. From left to right (all low carb): Caribbean Rum Punch, Vanilla Old Fashioned, and my favorite, a Dirty Shirley.