4 Cocktails to Bring Back That Cruising Feeling.

I’m 39. (Give me a second, I’m still adjusting to the sound of that.) And in 350 days I’ll turn 40, not that I’m counting.

Right before my birthday we got slammed by a savage Nor’easter, receiving 18 inches of snow in several hours. Then another storm hit on the morning of my birthday, leaving me with no choice but to declare Feb. 12, 2017 a snow day.

“Since we can’t leave, what do you want to do for your birthday?” Beth asked.

“Boat drinks!” I declared.

Opening the pantry, though, I discovered our provisions were light. I surveyed the labels and hit upon an idea: Let’s recreate a few of my favorite cocktails from our recent Caribbean cruises. And to make it even more festive—this is a snow day birthday, mind you—we went one step further by recreating not just the cocktail itself, but also the scene from the cruise in which I was drinking it.

So, without further ado, I’d like to welcome you all aboard our cruise staycation aka my 39^th birthday. Cups Up!

Bloody Maria

Without a doubt, the Bloody Maria is my favorite morning cocktail. I love the way the tequila plays with the spice and tomato. I fell for it on our first Caribbean cruise and haven’t gone back to vodka since.

Beth mixed up my birthday Bloody Maria and nailed it. Garnishes were piled high and the spice was just right. Then the giant breakfast sandwich and fresh donuts made an appearance. It is the closest I’ve ever got to Carnival’s Sea Day Brunch on land, and it’s now the standard by which I’ll judge all future birthday breakfasts.

Ingredients
2 oz. tequila
1 tsp. horseradish
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Dash of lime juice
3 dashes celery salt
3 dashes pepper
Tomato Juice
Celery stalk/Lemon/Olives/ for garnish

How to make it
Pour all ingredients except the tomato juice into a chilled glass filled with ice cubes. Top with tomato juice and mix well by rolling back and forth from one glass to another (or stir well). Garnish with olives, lemon wedge and celery stalks.

Cayman Lemonade

Calico Jacks, a tiki bar on 7-mile beach in Grand Cayman, gave birth to this refreshing cocktail. We mixed one up at home before our first western Caribbean cruise—never thinking we would step into the actual Calico Jacks bar – only to find ourselves there after our first SCUBA lesson. I ordered a Cayman Lemonade to go and we grabbed a spot on the powder white sand just off from the bar.

Fast forward to my birthday. Laying in the snow drinking a Cayman Lemonade as flurries fell in the silver dusk made for a fun juxtaposition to our days in Grand Cayman.

Ingredients
1 oz. vodka
1 oz. triple sec
1 oz. peach schnapps
Cranberry juice
Club soda or seltzer
Lemon

How to make it
First, mix the vodka, triple sec and peach schnapps in a shaker. Pour mixture over ice, add a squeeze of lemon and a splash of cranberry juice and soda, stir and enjoy.

Margarita

Air, sea or land, I am delirious for margaritas. On the rocks or frozen? It doesn’t matter. So, when it came time to recreate the photo of me in the lounger on the Carnival Dream, margarita in hand, I could not think of a better place than the lazy boy in front of a roaring fire.

Ingredients
1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 oz. triple sec
1.5 oz. tequila

How to make it
Place the ingredients into a shaker and fill with ice. Shake well and strain into a glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime.

Blushing Mimosa

I got a pedicure on our last cruise and loved it. We popped a bottle of Champagne before going up for our spa treatment and that made it all the better. It was a real Treat Yo Self kind of day; one I often reflect on when I need to go to my happy place. So after an afternoon of playing in the cold wind and snow, it only made sense to treat myself to a delicious mimosa cocktail while bathing my frozen feet.

Ingredients
2 cups orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons grenadine
1 bottle of champagne or prosecco

How to make it
Stir together the OJ, pineapple juice and grenadine. Pour equal parts juice mixture and champagne into a glass.