Offering a vacation from the mundane, fruity cocktails transport us to leisurely poolside afternoons near turquoise waters fringed with swaying palms. These colorful drinks spell summer.
Myriad beach bars dole out umbrella- adorned drinks by the buckets, but most serious cocktail makers and imbibers scoff at the thought of piña coladas and strawberry daiquiris. It’s not that aficionados don’t like fruity libations—refined programs from Unidos—A Latin Restaurant + Bar in Naples to Jungle Bird Tiki in Cape Coral flaunt their affinity for fruit-centric drink cultures. They shun the diluted versions that came with the introduction of cheap spirits and artificial mixers. But here, bartenders rise up with properly balanced, just-sweet-enough sippers that remind us why life is better on the Gulf. Fruit in cocktails can be found across eras and styles—from 17th-century party- perfect punches to Spanish sangrias to modern classics, like the pineapple-y East 8 Hold Up—but tiki culture reigns supreme. At Jungle Bird Tiki, Jeremy Vincent and his spirited maestros reclaim the Polynesian-inspired genre, following the standards established by the 1930s forefathers: homemade syrups, layered ingredients, kitschy fun and tons of fresh juices. The menu touts classics, like the Zombie and Hurricane (upgraded with premium rum and homemade fassionola, a passionfruit-based syrup), along with plenty of modern variations. Try the Fighter Pilot, with four rums and housemade falernum, or the less-boozy, Champagne- based Death to Fresh with peach, raspberry and pineapple—all served up in whimsical tiki mugs, naturally.
Jeremy’s newer Front Porch Social, near the Cape Coral Parkway, takes the focus off tiki but keeps fruit at the center of drinks, such as The Pair of Pears with lychee, prickly pear and pineapple. On weekends, ask for a mimosa flight, a tower with four fruit-infused glasses of bubbly.
In Naples, The Cave Bistro & Wine Bar’s sultry setting and oenophile inclinations belie the bartenders’ appreciation for the tiki craft. The bar has a secret, discretionary menu with turn-of-the-century classics and modern spins. Derek Van Dusen, who developed most of the list, proves fruity doesn’t have to mean light and sweet. If you prefer a burlier quaff, go for the Smokin’ Buddies, with scotch and mezcal tamed with lime, or Derek’s Any Port in a Storm, which updates the bourbon-and-passionfruit Port Light classic with single-malt. Derek likes to play with lesser-known spirits, liqueurs and house-made creations to upend imbiber’s expectations. For his new Mumei (translates to ‘No Name’), he mixes rich Plantation Original Dark Rum with house falernum, coconut cream, an apricot cordial, bitters, lemon and a dash of saltwater solution. Don’t discount a drink as saccharine because you see ingredients like coconut cream or apricot, Derek warns. Studied bartenders know how to blend bitters, tinctures and other elements to enhance and balance flavors. “It’s like a spice rack in your kitchen,” he says.
It’s not all tiki in the fruity cocktail world, either. Latin America lays claim to many exemplars, and few riff on the tropics better than Naples Design District’s Unidos. “We have such good produce [in Southwest Florida],” bar manager Luke Dunlap says. “There are so many flavors you can work with that bring a new dynamic to a drink.”
The team makes the sauces for tipples like Gin & Jam—a playful mix of gin and blackberry jam—and the new Quiero Morada. “The name plays off the color ‘purple’ in Spanish, but it also sounds like ‘I want more’,” he says. Luke makes the jam for his artisanal spin on a blueberry daiquiri, boiling and macerating the berries with cloves, cinnamon, orange, sugar and lemon. The blended rum libation is milk-clarified into a smooth sipper.
Cape Coral’s Nice Guys Pizza—a gritty bar that low-key touts one of the best drink programs in town—reclaims another fruity icon: the piña colada. For Nice Guys’ Escape, co-owner Greg Gebhard developed a ‘double juice’ technique, where he takes freeze-dried pineapple and rehydrates it with orange juice for an intensely flavored mix that exalts both fruits (“It doubles the flavor without diluting the drink,” he says.). Greg clarifies the alchemy to refine the texture and hits it with nitrogen gas for a creamy, velvety finish.
Nice Guys Pizza in Cape Coral uses a ‘double juice’ method for its velvety Escape nitro piña colada; freeze-dried pineapple is rehydrated with orange juice for amplified flavor.
Fresh, high-quality ingredients define the modern fruity cocktail. “We like to spend more money and put a higher-quality rum in the drink,” Jungle Bird’s Jeremy says. “Instead of doing 4 ounces of pineapple juice and 4 ounces of coconut cream, we can do half an ounce of each and let the good ingredients shine.”
At Naples’ Seventh South Craft Food + Drink, Barry Larkin adds another layer of fruity sweetness to his twist on the citrusy Bee’s Knees, with a dose of the Caribbean’s sweetened lime-and-spice liqueur falernum. In Bonita Springs, The Bohemian uses British-made, Naples-based Rivi Gin for its fan-favorite Green Goddess cocktail. The citrusy, herbal, spiced creation uses sake blended with Asian yuzu, ginger, mint from Bonita’s Farmer Mike’s U Pick, and a spritz of absinthe. We also love the restaurant’s Tiki Vibez with caramelized pineapple puree and a banana cordial.
Revered Southwest Florida bartender Stanley Worrell—who’s at The Bohemian and nearby Chartreuse Craft Cocktail Lounge—says ice is key for a good fruity drink. Once your ingredients are properly proportioned, the right-sized cubes help with controlled dilution to further balance sweetness or acidity. Shaking isn’t just for show, either, he says. The movement integrates the fresh ingredients and aerates the drink, creating a velvety, foamy texture.
Unidos’ bar manager, Luke, reminds us the harvest is not just sweet berries or sour citrus. “Fruit is not one note,” he says. “So many people think of peppers and things like that as vegetables, but they’re fruit.” In other words, if you’re not playing with fruit, you’re missing out.
Photography by Brian Tietz, Anna Nguyen, Scott McIntyre and Courtesy of the Bohemian.