Refreshing and Delicious Bama Breeze Cocktail.
The Bama Breeze is another recipe in our southern cocktail series! The Bama Breeze Cocktail was created by Lucy Buffet. Lucy is a restauranteur, cookbook author, and the sister of singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffet.
The idea for the drink came from a song that her brother Jimmy wrote and sang called, “Bama Breeze.”
The lyrics go:
Second set the owner Lulu gets up with the band
Lyrics from Bama Breeze by Jimmy Buffet
A beer in her hand and sings ‘Free-bird’, slow
Then she raises a toast, here’s to Ronnie and the boys
Now everybody make some noise
In the song the bar is called the Bama Breeze. In real life Lucy Buffet or “LuLu” is the owner of a small chain of southern coastal restaurants called LuLu’s.
Due to the song she created the Bama Breeze Cocktail!
Check out her original recipe and many more in her cookbook, “Gumbo Love.”
I love the Bama Breeze Cocktail, y’all! I like it because it is not too sweet, in fact, it is a little tart and super refreshing!
We recently had our first al fresco meal of the spring on our back deck with grilled hamburgers and grilled veggies. I whipped us up some Bama Breeze Cocktails and it was the perfect accompaniment to a lovely spring evening.
The Arnold Palmer Cocktail would have also been a great choice for a grilled spring or summer meal so you might want to take a look at that recipe as well.
How to Make a Bama Breeze Cocktail
Ingredients:
- Grapefruit vodka
- Coconut rum
- Simple Syrup
- Limes
- Cranberry Juice
Tools:
- Cocktail Shaker
- Shot glass with measuring lines
- Any type of medium to tall glassware. These old fashioned type drinking glasses would be cute!
Directions:
- Put some ice in a cocktail shaker
- Add 1 ounce grapefruit vodka
- Add 1 ounce coconut rum
- Add 1.5 ounces of cranberry juice (or to taste)
- Add 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- Squeeze in the juice of a lime wedge
- Shake!
- Pour over ice
- Serve with a wedge of lime as a garnish
Tips for Making the Bama Breeze
- The grapefruit vodka really makes a difference here! We have tried it with regular vodka and while it is still good…the grapefruit vodka really pushes this drink over the top.
- This is better with 100% cranberry juice instead of cranberry juice cocktail which sometimes has sugar and a mix of fruit juices.
- Make this to taste – add more lime, add less simple syrup, experiment!
- If the lime juice makes the drink too tart for your taste you can try throwing a lime wedge into the shaker rather than squeezing in the juice. Try it both ways and see what you think!
- Simple syrup is easy to make and will keep in your fridge for a while.
How to Make your own simple syrup!
Although you can buy simple syrup it is so easy to make on your own. Just heat 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of sugar until the sugar is melted. Let it cool and you are ready to go!
Or make even more and store for future use.
Hope you enjoy this recipe for the Bama Breeze Cocktail. Let us know what you think.
Check out more recipes in our southern cocktail series!
