Classic cocktail · Guided recipe

Beachcomber

Swap a Daiquiri's sugar for orange liqueur, add a bar spoon of maraschino, and this is where you land. Drier than the Daiquiri and considerably more aromatic. Most people can't name the cherry-stone note underneath, and 4 ml of it is plenty.

Preparation~2 minEasyStrengthStrongabout 33% ABVMethodShaken8 guided stepsIngredients4Coupe or martini glass

Sour

In the glassWhite rum · Triple sec / Cointreau · Fresh lime juice · Maraschino liqueur

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Make it with guidanceOne clear action at a time, with timers built in.

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What goes in

Ingredients

An empty clear coupe glass with a shallow rounded bowl and slender stem. — Serving glassCoupe glass

Set up before you pour

Use a coupe glass.

The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.

Standard size: 200 ml6¾ oz
Ice & serve: Chill it first; serve without ice.
If you don’t own one: Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.

Tools to set out

cocktail shaker
strainer (or a small sieve)
jigger or measuring spoon

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Scale to your coupe or martini glassWe’ll remember this glass size.

White rum60 ml
Triple sec / Cointreau15 ml
Maraschino liqueur4 ml
Fresh lime juice15 ml

Start making

From bottle to glass

Method

01
Measure into the shaker
Pour 60 ml white rum into your shaker
- White rum
02
Measure into the shaker
Add 15 ml triple sec / cointreau
- Triple sec / Cointreau
03
Measure into the shaker
Add 15 ml fresh lime juice
- Fresh lime juice
04
Measure into the shaker
Add 4 ml maraschino liqueur
- Maraschino liqueur
05
Ice the shaker
Fill the shaker with ice
Why it mattersFill it right up — more ice chills faster with less watering down.
06
Seal and shake
Seal and shake hard
Why it mattersCold hands mean it’s working. Shake until the tin frosts over.
07
Strain cleanly
Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
Why it mattersPour through the strainer so the spent shaker ice stays behind.
08
Finish the drink
Finish it — add a lime wheel

Know your drink

About the Beachcomber

A Daiquiri, minty rum highball and dark rum rocks drink at a sunset terrace bar.

Not really a tiki drink

Beachcomber sounds like Don the Beachcomber and the Hollywood rum bars of the 1930s, but nothing in the build is tiki. No falernum, no allspice, no stack of syrups. It is the plain sour-plus-liqueur skeleton, and if you swap the rum for brandy and the lime for lemon you are holding a Sidecar. Maraschino is the only ornament, and it goes in by the bar spoon.

Curaçao and maraschino together are what make this drier than a Daiquiri, which is counterintuitive given both are liqueurs. Fifteen milliliters of Cointreau carries less sugar than the same volume of simple syrup, and brings bitter orange peel with it. Maraschino adds cherry stone and a faint funk rather than fruit sweetness. Between them you get aroma where a Daiquiri gives you sugar.

Common questions

Beachcomber FAQ

Cointreau, triple sec or curaçao?

It matters, because 15 ml is a quarter of the glass. Cointreau at 40 percent is dry and bright and keeps the balance where it should be. Cheap triple sec at 20 percent is mostly sugar and needs the lime pushed to 20 ml. A dry curaçao adds a little brandy weight underneath.

Is this the same as a Hemingway Daiquiri?

They share the maraschino and nothing else. The Hemingway leans on grapefruit and takes no sugar at all, which makes it markedly drier and faintly bitter. This one gets its sweetness from orange liqueur, so it is rounder in the mouth and reads much more like a rum Sidecar.

No coupe in the cupboard. What else?

Any stemmed glass around 150 to 180 ml. A small wine glass beats a wide Martini glass, which spreads the drink thin and lets it warm in minutes. Put whatever you use in the freezer for ten minutes first, since there is no ice in the serve to keep it cold.

What ingredients are in a Beachcomber?

A classic Beachcomber calls for 60 ml (2 oz) White rum, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Triple sec / Cointreau, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lime juice, 4 ml (0.25 oz) Maraschino liqueur. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

How strong is a Beachcomber?

A standard Beachcomber is roughly 33% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

Is a Beachcomber shaken or stirred?

A Beachcomber is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.

What glass do you serve a Beachcomber in?

Serve a Beachcomber in a chilled coupe glass, well chilled — this drink is served without ice, so a cold glass keeps it cold.

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