North Beach Cooler
A refreshing, bubbly and bitter cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 7.6% ABV ∙
The North Beach Cooler shakes tequila blanco, dry vermouth and a red bitter with lime and syrup, then tops it with soda in a highball.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 5 ingredients with ice: Tequila blanco 20 mlDry vermouth 20 mlRed bitter 15 mlLime juice 20 mlSugar syrup 15 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Soda water
- Garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wedge
Tips
- Shake only the first five ingredients and add the soda straight into the glass at the end so it keeps its fizz.
History
The North Beach Cooler was created in 2018 by Priscilla Leong, an Australian bartender then working at The Baxter Inn in Sydney, who won the inaugural Australian season of the Speed Rack cocktail competition with this drink. Speed Rack is a competitive series that showcases female bartenders, and the North Beach Cooler was later collected among more than 100 competition recipes in the 2024 book A Quick Drink, published by the event's founders.
The cocktail pairs tequila with Campari and dry vermouth lengthened with soda, a combination bartenders have likened to a low-alcohol cross between a Siesta and a Rome with a View.
FAQ
What is in a North Beach Cooler?
20 ml each of tequila blanco, dry vermouth and fresh lime juice, plus 15 ml each of sugar syrup and a red bitter such as Campari. It is topped with 50 ml soda water.
How do you make a North Beach Cooler?
Shake the tequila, dry vermouth, red bitter, lime juice and sugar syrup hard with ice, then strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Add the soda in the glass, not the shaker, so it keeps its fizz, and garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wedge.
