According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, over 500 million plastic straws are used each day. With plastic straw bans increasing across the country with the #SkipTheStraw movement, we wanted to provide our readers with a list of cocktails that do not require a straw!

Did You Know?

Did you know that plastic is a substance that the Earth absolutely cannot digest? Plastic is a material that, by design, is durable and meant to last forever, plastic can not biodegrade, it simply breaks down into smaller pieces. And, even though it’s meant to last, one-third of plastic is used once and then discarded.

Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic each year, with only 8 percent being recycled. The majority of the waste will end up in a landfill, or becomes ‘litter’.

What Does Plastic Effect?

Plastic can spoil our groundwater; it can poison our food chain; plastic attracts other pollutants, threatens wildlife, affects human health, and can cost billions to abate.

The Last Plastic Straw

#SkipTheStraw spawns from the Plastic Pollution Coalition initiative called The Last Plastic Straw, which is designed to build momentum around a movement to make plastic straws a relic of the past.

In encouraging eateries to no longer automatically give out plastic straws and work toward a “straw free” world, The Last Plastic Straw also works to change local regulation to stop plastic pollution.

You can do your part by eliminating use of plastics and plastic straws, and we have 12 eateries, bars, and hotels who have joined the movement to #SkipTheStraw and are providing you with some straw-free cocktail options:

Mr. Pink

Featured on Mahina & Sun’s curated cocktail menu at The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club – Waikiki’s first hotel to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles – the straw-free Mr. Pink (served in a martini glass) foam egg-white cocktail blends Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, Lillet Blanc, and Dry Curacao topped off with drops of rose flower water.

0.75 oz. Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
0.75 oz. Lillet Blanc
0.5 oz. Ferrand Dry Curacao
0.5 oz. Yellow Chatters
0.75 oz. Fresh Pressed Lemon Juice
3 Drops Rose Flower Water
1 Egg White

Instructions:  Shake hard over ice to chill. Strain back into tin and dry shake again without ice to emulsify. Strain into chilled Cocktail glass.

Rosemary Pineapple Margarita

Marker 92 at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village puts an herbaceous and tropical twist on its signature margarita, pairing fresh-squeezed pineapple and savory rosemary with Milagro Reposado Tequila, cherry Heering, agave simple syrup, and lime and orange bitters.

Directions:

Muddle (1) 1oz. pineapple cube with fresh rosemary, a splash of agave syrup, 3 dashes of orange bitters, and a splash of lime juice.

Add Ice, then 1.25 oz. Milagros reposado tequila, ½ oz. of cherry herring liquor, 2 oz. of pineapple juice and shake well. Pour into highball glass with a salted rim. Add 1 sprig of rosemary with a pineapple cherry spear as the garnish.

Sangria Pop

A refreshing and playful cocktail best enjoyed while relaxing on the patio during the summer months, Del Frisco’s Grille’s new Sangria Pop is an artful blend of crisp Pinot Grigio, fresh white peach purée and peach schnapps topped with a house-made strawberry peach popsicle, adding depth to the flavor profile of the sangria and maintaining its ice-cold temperature while you continue to sip straight from the glass.

2 bottles of good quality Pinot Grigio
10 oz. of DeKuper Peachtree Schnapps
10 oz. of White Peach Puree
16 oz. Sprite

Instructions: Combine first three ingredients, stir well to mix and refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend.  Add Sprite just prior to serving; stir well.

Mango Sorbet Mimosa

This refreshing twist on the mimosa is served at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar the Bahamian property’s Café Madeleine.

2 scoops mango sorbet
2 oz. Prosecco or Champagne
Freshly squeezed orange juice to taste
Half scoop of crushed ice
Fresh fruit for garnish

Instructions: Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and puree. Pour into champagne flute or glass of choice. Garnish with strawberries, blueberries and mint if desired.

Hibiscus and Rose Tea

The Hibiscus & Rose Tea cocktail from the Deer Path Inn is served in a tea cup and made with Hibiscus rose cold tea, gin, Suze, tangerine juice, and Oleo Saccharum.

30 ml. Hibiscus rose cold tea
40 ml. Gin
5 ml. Suze
15 ml. Tangerine juice
15 ml. Oleo saccharum

Instructions: Combine ingredients in a teacup, drink.

Mezcal Paloma

Newly opened on May 1 in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Grain & Cane features fresh straw-less cocktails including its Mezcal Paloma – served with slices of jalapeno.

½ oz. Mezcal
1 oz. Grapefruit
½ oz. Jalapeno simple syrup
1 bar spoon of agave

Instructions: Shake ingredients over ice and serve in a lowball with ice. Garnish with thin slice of jalapeno.

Mama Ricco

A destination located in the heart of Williamsburg, NY, The William Vale’s southern Italian restaurant, Leuca, from Chef Andrew Carmellini’s NoHo Hospitality Group, is serving up the Mamma Ricco cocktail crafted with vodka, rum, St. Germain, Strega, and grapefruit.

1 oz. Hangar One Buddha’s Hand Vodka
.75 oz. Banks 5 Island Rum
.25 oz. St. Germain
.5 oz. Strega liquor
.5 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
.25 oz. agave syrup
.75 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Bitterman’s Hellfire Shrub bitters

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in tin and shake. Strain into a coupe cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon wheel.

The Bee’s Sneeze

The “Bee’s Sneeze“ cocktail at The Bar at the Spectator Hotel combines an egg-white base with Orange Blossom & Rosewater, Ransom Old Tom Gin, Fresh Lemon Juice and Lavender-infused Charleston Bees Honey – making it the ideal drink to sip on after a beautiful summer day.

2 oz. Ransom Old Tom Gin
¾ oz. Lavender infused Charleston Bees Honey
½ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Egg White
Spray Orange Blossom & Rosewater

Purple Rain

Steps from the French Quarter, Hilton New Orleans Riverside’s speakeasy, Public Belt, features a Color Changing Martini that starts as lilac, darkens to a deep purple, and then changes to a bright fuchsia. The drink is concocted with gin, ginger liquor, simple syrup, and Blure natural flower extract, allowed to darken and then brightened with lemon juice.

.75 oz. ginger liquor
1.5 oz. gin
.5 oz. simple syrup
10 drops Blure – natural flower extract
Allow to darken, then add .75 oz. lemon juice to change the color

Dark Sunset

Located on Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park, Hilton Chicago features a Dark Sunset cocktail, crafted with FEW bourbon, Fonseca Bin 27 port, cherry syrup, lemon juice, bitters, blackberries and rosemary – perfect for summer sipping on Kitty O’Sheas outdoor patio.

1.5 oz. F.E.W. Bourbon
.75 oz. Fonseca Bin 27 Port
.75 oz. Real Cherry Puree (2:1)
.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 dash Scrappy’s Aromatic Bitters

Watermelon Margarita and Straw-less Lime Margarita

As a hotel dedicated to sustainability, AC Hotel Miami Aventura is offering two straw-less summer cocktails including a Watermelon Margarita with seedless cubed watermelon, Patron silver tequila, watermelon and lime juices, and watermelon simple syrup, and a Lime Straw-less Margarita made with Patron silver tequila, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur and simple syrup.

Watermelon:

2 cups seedless cubed watermelon
1/2 cup water
4 oz. Patron silver tequila
4 oz. watermelon juice
2 oz. lime juice
1 oz. watermelon simple syrup
serving coarse salt (for the rim)
serving lime wedges

Lime:

1½ oz. Patron Silver Tequila
1 oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. orange liqueur
1½ tablespoons simple syrup
1 tablespoon coarse salt, or kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar and lime zest

Kiss the Dragon

Kiss of the Dragon at The Collector Luxury Inn & Gardens in St. Augustine, Florida, created by beverage director Sonny Wallace, combines Iichiko Shochu, Iichiko Shochu, lemon juice, Honey Dew syrup, Velvet Falernum, and black lemon bitters.

1 oz. Ty-ku sake
.25 oz. Dragonfruit infused Ty-ku Cucumber Junmai Sake
.5 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. Honey Dew syrup
.25 oz. Velvet Falernum
3 dashes Scrappy’s Black Lemon Bitters

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in shaker. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds and strain over 2-inch cube into Wooden Miso Bowl. Garnish with Lemon Ash and 2 edible violas. Cocktail is to be consumed using both hands and lifting close to your mouth to consume.

 

For more information or to join the movement visit the Plastic Pollution Coalition.