If you’ve never heard of a Paradise cocktail, you’re not alone, but you are missing out. It’s a classic cocktail, made from gin, apricot brandy and orange juice. Recently there has been a bit of a cocktail renaissance, dusting off old recipes and re-imagining them, and the Paradise cocktail is one that deserves its own comeback.
The Paradise cocktail has been around for a long time. The first known printed recipe for it was written in 1930 by Harry Craddock. But, that’s only what we know and it could have been created before then and just not published. It was widely popular before the Prohibition, too.
You’ve probably heard more about the Paradise cocktail than you know, but heard it called by its other name: Gin & Juice. Snoop Dogg not only sang a song called Gin and Juice, he set a world record on May 27, 2018 for the largest Gin and Juice. In typical Snoop fashion, he made a massive, 500 litre Paradise cocktail.
If you’re curious about what it tastes like, it’s more balanced and less dry than a gin martini. The gin is dry with floral notes, the brandy is sweet and fruity, and the orange juice both compliments them by adding citrusy flavors to them, and blends them together. And, because of its fruity, sweet nature, and the fact that it isn’t dry, it’s considered an aperitif, or “pre-dinner” drink. Now that you know everything there is to know about them, here are the best Paradise cocktail recipes.
Classic Paradise Cocktail
This recipe is pretty close to the original. It even comes close to the original recipe’s 2:1:1 ratio. But, if you really want it to be authentic, you can tweak it to make the ratio more exact.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. Gin
- 1 oz. Apricot brandy
- 2 oz. Orange juice
Directions
- Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice
- Shake until chilled
- Strain into cocktail glass
- Serve
Island Paradise Cocktail
There’s more than one way to get to Paradise, as is evidenced by this recipe. There’s not a bit of gin in it, but it still keeps with the spirit of the Paradise cocktail by combining various spirits with fruit juice. Although it is fruity and easy to drink, probably the coolest thing about this drink is that it’s got a cool layered look to it that makes it as much fun to look at as it is to drink.
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz. Grenadine
- 3 oz. Pineapple juice
- 1 oz. Malibu coconut rum
- 1/4 oz. Blue curacao
- 1 oz. Water
- 2 oz. Vodka
- Ice
Directions
- Pour Grenadine in the baseline of the glass
- Fill the glass with ice
- Mix Malibu rum and pineapple juice together in a separate container
- Pour pineapple juice mixture into glass
- Stir blue curacao, water and vodka together in a separate container
- Pour into glass
- Garnish with pineapple or lemon wedge
- Serve
Trouble in Paradise
This is an interesting take on the Paradise cocktail. It’s made with bourbon, Campari, grapefruit and lemon juice, basil, black pepper and a bit of honey. The result is a drink that has lots of fruity, citrus flavors, with herbal notes and just a little sweetness.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 fresh basil sprigs
- 1 oz. Bourbon
- 1 oz. Campari
- 3/4 oz. Grapefruit juice
- 3/4 oz. Lemon juice
- 2 grinds black pepper
Directions
- In a small jar, add honey and 1 Tablespoon warm water and shake until honey is dissolved
- Add 1 basil sprig and the remaining ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice
- Shake until chilled
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice
- Garnish with remaining basil sprig
- Serve
Jamaican Paradise
This is a twist on the fan favorite drink sold at Chili’s. Rather than using fruit juice, as is the case on most of the recipes on this list, this recipe calls for Midori melon flavored liqueur and blue curacao. The result is an interesting greenish-blue tinged drink with lots of citrus and melon flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. Malibu rum
- 1/2 oz. Cuervo Tequila Gold
- 1/2 oz. Midori melon liqueur
- 1/2 oz. Blue curacao
- 3 oz. Sour mix
Directions
- Add ingredients to a glass filled with ice
- Stir
- Serve
Peach Paradise Cocktail
This recipe is slightly more complicated than the others on this list. You have to make a peach puree, which creates an extra step. But, the flavor is well worth the additional work. This drink is aptly named, providing lots of fruity and complext flavors, with a rich, smooth texture. It truly is Peach Paradise, and will surely become one of your favorites after you learn how to make it!
Ingredients
- 7 oz. Canned peaches, drained (save back one slice for garnish)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- Ice
- 1 teaspoon evaporated milk
- 3 oz. Rum
- 3 oz. Pineapple juice
- 3 oz. Orange juice
- 1 teaspoon Grenadine
- 1 teaspoon honey
- maraschino cherries (garnish)
Directions
- Put the peaches and grated ginger into a blender
- Pulse until smooth
- Add ice, puree, evaporated milk, rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and Grenadine to a cocktail shaker
- Shake until chilled
- Pour into glass
- Top with honey
- Stir
- Add a peach slice and 2 maraschino cherries to umbrella skewer and garnish
- Serve
Paradise Punch
While most punches are made for groups, this one is great for solo indulgence. There are lots of fruity flavors, a pop of red color, and plenty of booze in it. This the favorite cocktail of many people, and you’ll understand why as soon as you drink it. The fruity flavors hide the alcohol content, so it’s easy to drink but it still does the job pretty quickly!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. Absolut
- 3/4 oz. Southern Comfort
- 1/2 oz. Amaretto
- 2 oz. Pineapple juice
- 4 oz. Orange juice
- 1/2 oz. Grenadine
- Ginger ale
Directions
- Add all of the ingredients except the ginger ale to a glass filled with ice
- Top with ginger ale
- Stir to combine
- Serve
No matter how you choose to make your Paradise cocktail, it’s pretty likely that the spirit of the drink is to have fun with alcohol and fruit juices. Gin and juice is great, but there are other types of alcohol out there that are worth trying, as well, and it appears that lots of people are catching on to that trend and making their own versions of the Paradise cocktail. Any of the recipes on this list are worth a try, and you’ll probably fall in love with them, as will your guests if you serve them at a party!