Sex on the Beach & Screwdriver

The Screwdriver: vodka and orange juice

Few vodka drinks get by with fewer ingredients than the Screwdriver: just vodka and orange juice over ice. A well-known but unverified story circulates about the origin of its name: American oil workers in the Middle East are said to have mixed their vodka directly into cans of orange juice and stirred it with whatever tool was at hand, a screwdriver.

This anecdote isn't confirmed beyond doubt; it belongs more to the many bar legends surrounding simple drinks. What is certain, though, is that the Screwdriver has been one of the best-known vodka cocktails in the USA since the mid-20th century, precisely because it needs no shaker and no special ingredients.

Sex on the Beach: a marketing idea from Florida

Sex on the Beach originated in Florida in the 1980s and is often credited to bartender Ted Pizio, who worked at the nightclub Confetti's in Fort Lauderdale in 1987. The drink was part of a promotional contest run by a beverage manufacturer looking to sell more peach liqueur during spring break.

The eye-catching name was chosen deliberately to stick in the minds of young partygoers at the resort town, entirely in the spirit of the promotion. Its fruity, seemingly low-alcohol taste fit perfectly with warm beaches and cocktail parties, and from there it spread quickly across the entire USA.

Both recipes in cl

A Screwdriver needs only 5 cl vodka and about 10 to 12 cl fresh orange juice, poured directly over ice cubes in a tall glass and briefly stirred. No shaker, no strainer, no other ingredients. An orange slice on the rim is garnish enough.

For a Sex on the Beach, 4 cl vodka, 2 cl peach liqueur, 4 cl orange juice, and 4 cl cranberry juice are poured over ice in a tall glass and stirred, or alternatively shaken briefly in a shaker. The classic garnish is an orange slice and a cocktail cherry.

Why these drinks remain so approachable

Both cocktails deliberately avoid complicated technique and rare ingredients. Fruit juices and vodka are available almost everywhere, making both drinks reliable beginner recipes. Anyone just starting out with cocktails can practice here without having to worry about shaking times or stirring technique right away.

At the same time, both drinks show the limits of sweetness: too much juice and liqueur can almost completely mask the vodka. Anyone mixing these at home should be careful not to be too generous with the ratio of spirit to juice, or the result will taste mostly of juice and barely like a cocktail at all.

Harvey Wallbanger & Fuzzy Navel: further relatives

From the same era comes the Harvey Wallbanger, essentially a Screwdriver with an extra splash of the herbal liqueur Galliano floated on top. The Fuzzy Navel, on the other hand, skips vodka entirely and simply mixes peach liqueur with orange juice, making it only distantly similar to Sex on the Beach.

All three drinks show just how versatile simple juice mixes with vodka or liqueur can be, without the basic principle changing much: one spirit, one or two juices, plenty of ice. Anyone who has mastered one of these recipes will immediately feel at home with the others.

Both drinks can easily be adapted into alcohol-free versions: for the Screwdriver, orange juice with a splash of soda water provides extra freshness, while for Sex on the Beach, a non-alcoholic peach syrup replaces the liqueur without changing the basic fruity idea. Both mocktails are therefore also suitable for guests who prefer to skip alcohol. In every version, plenty of fresh ice remains essential, since the sweet fruit juices can otherwise quickly turn sticky and too warm instead of tasting refreshing.