Yacht Club House Drinks

Sailing has its traditions, and for better or worse, the adult beverages is one of them. At some yacht clubs, this tradition goes so far as a designated house drink. In 2010-11, we took on the task of creating a list of these house drinks. Here is what we learned:

American Yacht Club (Rye, NY) – Planter’s Punch
Bay Head Yacht Club (Bay Head, NJ) – Steak Knife, Light & Dark
Bayview Yacht Club (Detroit, MI) – Hummer
Chicago Yacht Club (Chicago, IL) – Thunderhead
City Island Yacht Club (City Island, NY) – Dark and Stormy
Club de Yates de Acapulco (Acapulco, MEX) – una Betty
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (Darling Point, NSW) – Mutton Bird Repellents
Dillon Yacht Club (Dillon, CO) – Goslings Dark N Stormy
Eastport Yacht Club (Annapolis, MD) – Juanita’s Margarita
Edgartown Yacht Club (Edgartown, MA) – Planter’s Punch
Indian Harbor Yacht Club (Greenwich, CT) – Black Top
Lake George Yacht Club (Lake George, NY) – Indian Joe
Larchmont Yacht Club (Larchmont, NY) – Montesano Cooler
Madison Beach Club (Madison, CT) – Lightning
Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club (Monterey, CA) – MOP (Myer’s, OJ, and Pineapple)
New York Yacht Club (Newport Station) – The Hillslide
Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Newport Beach, CA) – Mai Tai
Ocean Beach Yacht Club (San Diego, CA) – 12-pack of Natural Light
Pewaukee Yacht Club (Pewaukee, WI) – Special (lots of Mount Gay)
Rochester Yacht Club (Rochester, NY) – Wedge
Royal Burnham Yacht Club (Essex, UK) – Max’s Special
Royal Nassau Sailing Club (Nassau, Bahamas) – Yellow Bird
San Francisco Yacht Club (Belvedere, CA) – Spooli-Oooli
Scuttlebutt Sailing Club – Cadillac Margarita
Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY) – Southside
South Beach Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA) – Geoff Daw (or simply “a Daw”)
Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA) – Red Drink (aka Planter’s Punch)
St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA) – Sloe Gin Fizz
Texas Corinthian Yacht Club (Kemah, TX) – Rum Gums
Wayzeta Yacht Club (Wayzata, MN) – Gay Buddy
Yacht Club’s along the Gulf Coast – Bushwacker

At the time, we were flattered to hear from Juanita Hopkins, the bartender/bar manager at the Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis, who did not want her specialty drink to hog the limelight.

“While my margaritas have slayed many a liver, my Rum Punch is our other equally if not more popular signature drink. In the winter months, for the Frostbite series on Sundays, I make two hot drinks: The Kitchen Sink Coffee (everything but the kitchen sink is in it) and The Chocolate Bomb (fondly known as the Chocolate Boom Boom).”

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