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A Maui Island Breeze is a cocktail that will make you dream of Hawaii! It’s made with vodka, pineapple juice, and cranberry and is the perfect tropical summer drink recipe. If you love vodka drinks you’ll LOVE this recipe!
Plus, this Island Breeze Drink can be made as a single cocktail or a party punch for a crowd!
What is your favorite thing to do on a relaxing vacation? Sleep? Swim? Suntan?
My favorite thing to do on any vacation, especially a relaxing beach vacation, is to read. I can devour book after book while I sit on my lounge chair drinking cocktails. I read two whole books over the week we were in Hawaii. Mel and Jordan spent 8 hours IN the pool, I spent 8 hours next to it, parked in a lounge chair, reading books and drinking Island Breeze Cocktails.
Why can’t that kind of day be every day? #wishfulthinking
We’ll pretend that the sandblasting heat here in Sacramento is a trade wind off the coast of Maui…or something.
Table of Contents
What is an Island Breeze Cocktail?
An Island Breeze Cocktail is a fruity vodka drink made with pineapple and cranberry juice. It’s the perfect drink for one or to make as a party punch!
This cocktail was one of my favorites from vacation. I say “one of” because I had a lot. Too many! But I discovered something I didn’t know about myself: I love pineapple juice. Especially when it’s mixed with alcohol!
You’ll find this cocktail on the menu at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club where we stayed. If I’d have been smart while we were there I would have gone to the grocery store and bought a bottle of vodka and some juice and had cocktails for days. Instead I spent $10 a pop on this drink.
Dare I say it was worth it? It was.
Ingredients in the best vodka drink
This is a vodka cocktail mixed with pineapple juice and a splash of cranberry. It has the perfect amount of sweet and tart flavor. It goes down like juice, which can be a bad thing in the hot midday sun. Or a good thing, depending on how you look at it.
Garnish it with a cherry and pineapple wedge (or even a slice of lime) and you’ve got a gorgeous cocktail for any party (of one). Or, make this as a punch for a party. That’s what I’m planning to do at our next pool party – I’m going to mix vodka, pineapple juice, and cranberry with some diet soda to make a delicious punch.
(You could even leave out the vodka and let the adults add it themselves. The kids will love a Virgin Island Breeze!)
When you drink this cocktail I want you to think of warm weather, the beach, and a good book. That’s what I’ll be dreaming about!
Well that and how fast I can make myself another one of these babies. 🙂
How to make the best ever vodka drink, an Island Breeze Cocktail:
- I say 1-2 ounces vodka because it depends on how strong you want it. When in doubt add more vodka (or more juice).
- Make it sparkling by adding some soda water.
- When making a pitcher, taste test to make sure it’s not too strong or too weak for your guests.
- I’ve also seen this called a Tropical Bay Breeze, which is what my friend Holly calls it.
Other Vodka Drinks to try:
Have you made this recipe?
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Maui Island Breeze Cocktail
Ingredients
To make one cocktail:
- 1-2 ounces vodka
- 6 ounces pineapple juice
- Splash of cranberry juice
- Pineapple and a maraschino cherry for garnish optional
To make as a punch:
- 36 ounces pineapple juice
- 12 ounces vodka more or less depending on how strong you want it
- ½ cup cranberry juice
- Up to 1L Sparkling water or diet lemon-lime soda as a filler
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients over ice, stir, and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Recipe Nutrition
Click here to see more DRINK recipes! And if you love fruity drinks with vodka, be sure to check out Erin’s Vodka Cranberry with Lime or Karyn’s Raspberry Lemon Infused Vodka!
An Island Breeze is the best vodka drink with a twist of Hawaii and the beach: vodka, pineapple and cranberry juice. Make this cocktail for one or for a crowd as a vodka party punch.
Last Updated on May 20, 2022
This looks like this might become my new favorite drink!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Michelle!
This is literally like my dream cocktail! Is it too early to make it right now? NEED!
My husband and I went to Hawaii a couple of years ago (best vaca ever!), and I did a lot of the same thing – sat by the pool, read, and drank yummy drinks! This one looks delicious, Dorothy, and takes me back to that wonderful break from reality! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Stephanie! I keep wanting to recreate it and pretend I’m still there.
This one looks right up my alley, Dorothy. I’m a huge fan of pineapple and pineapple juice (obvis). In fact, I recently got one of those coring tools where it cuts out spirals and leaves the pineapple intact – I drank the juice straight from the pineapple! Ha.
And vacation, what’s that? 😆 But seriously all 3… sleep while sunbathing, wake up and have a swim and repeat! 😀 I’ll have to make this cocktail to sunbathe out on the garden with and pretend I’m on vaca! Vaca in England… *snort*
At least it would be a start, lol! Thanks Lisa!
What a perfect summer day drink! Â I love pineapple juice too and add it to drinks all the time! Â Now I just need some of your hot weather to hit IN, then grab a glass of this and a book and sit outside!!!
This looks and sounds fabulous. I think we are just about twinsies today indeed. Your vacation looked fabulous and surfing!?!?! WHAT? Crazy awesomeness. Â I hope you saved a slice of that fabulous beach for me. We are headed there next year (as it turns out we are house hunting this year, LOL). Â Great cocktail and I am jealous of your read time. I long for the ability to shut off my brain and dive into a book, I miss those days.
I LOVE pineapple juice cocktails, too!!!  Add a splash of coconut milk and I might just camp out in the yard all day.  😉
I’ll take a pitcher by the pool please 🙂
I can see myself sipping on this drink on a sunny beach – it looks super yummy!! 🙂
I have never tried pineapple juice with cranberry – sounds yummy! Â Hey- I loved the book Special Circumstances, too; couldn’t put it down. Â Sheldon Siegel was a friend of mine, until I moved out of state and we lost touch. Â He’s a super nice guy. Â I met him when I worked for him at a San Francisco law firm. Â I’ve neglected so many old friends since I became a mom.
Oh my gosh! How cool! I’m on book 6 now. Love the series!
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