You’re craving something bright, juicy, and easy to enjoy. The Southern Peach cocktail captures the taste of summer with smooth sweetness and a refreshing finish.
Equipment
To prepare the Southern Peach, you will need minimal tools for quick mixing:
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Jigger or Measuring Cup: For measuring the liquids accurately.
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Bar Spoon: For gently stirring the ingredients in the glass.
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Ice Cubes: For chilling the drink.
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Highball Glass or Tall Tumbler: The preferred glass for serving this cocktail on the rocks.
Ingredients
The key to the Southern Peach is the combination of its two peach-flavored spirits:
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1.5 oz Southern Comfort: The base liqueur, offering whiskey, spice, and peach flavor.
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0.5 oz Peach Schnapps: Enhances the dominant sweet peach note.
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4 oz Orange Juice: The mixer, adding body, color, and citrus sweetness.
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Ice Cubes: For chilling and serving.
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Garnish: An orange slice or a maraschino cherry.
Instructions
Making a Southern Peach is incredibly easy and requires no special technique:
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Fill Glass with Ice: Fill a highball or tall tumbler glass completely with fresh ice cubes.
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Add Spirits: Pour the Southern Comfort and Peach Schnapps over the ice.
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Top with Juice: Fill the remainder of the glass with Orange Juice.
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Stir Gently: Stir the ingredients gently with a bar spoon to combine, being careful not to dilute too quickly.
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Garnish: Garnish with an orange slice or a cherry, positioned on the rim.
Tasting Notes
The Southern Peach delivers a flavor that is unapologetically sweet and fruity.
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Aroma: Strongly sweet and fruity, dominated by peach and orange with a subtle hint of spice.
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Color: Warm, opaque orange.
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Taste: Very sweet and smooth, with the distinct flavor of ripe peaches leading the way. The orange juice brightens the profile, and the base of SoCo provides a warming finish.
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Mouthfeel: Smooth, cold, and easy to drink.
Similar Cocktails
These cocktails share the primary base spirit or a similar fruity, sweet profile:
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Fuzzy Navel: Vodka (or schnapps) and orange juice (lacks the depth of SoCo).
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Southern Comfort and Orange Juice (SoCo & OJ): The simpler, two-ingredient version.
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Sex on the Beach: A mixed drink that also features peach schnapps and cranberry/orange juice.
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Alabama Slammer: Another popular Southern Comfort shooter/cocktail with amaretto and orange juice.
History
The Southern Peach cocktail is a modern, crowd-sourced invention that grew out of the massive popularity of Southern Comfort in the mid-to-late 20th century. Since Southern Comfort already has prominent peach and apricot notes, combining it with readily available Peach Schnapps and a common mixer like orange juice was a natural and easy way to create a universally appealing, sweet party drink. It is a quintessential bar staple, known more for its flavor than its complex history.
Quick Pro Tips
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Go with Fresh: Use high-quality, freshly squeezed orange juice for the best flavor, avoiding overly sweet concentrate.
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Control the Sweetness: If you find the drink too sweet, substitute half of the orange juice with soda water or club soda for fizz and lightness.
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Make it Stronger: For a more spirit-forward drink, increase the Southern Comfort to 2 oz and reduce the Peach Schnapps to 0.25 oz.
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Use Good Ice: Always use fresh, clean ice to prevent off-flavors from diluting the cocktail.
When to Serve
The Southern Peach is best suited for casual, warm-weather settings:
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Pool Parties and BBQs: Its refreshing and sweet profile makes it a perfect summer cooler.
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Happy Hour: A simple, enjoyable choice for unwinding.
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Large Gatherings: The recipe is easy to scale up into a punch or batch for a crowd.
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Dessert Drink: A sweet, fruity option to enjoy after dinner.
