One of the most popular party themes is pirates - we love to talk like ‘em, dress like ‘em, sing and act like ‘em, and some of us like to drink fruity, lusciously flavored drinks inspired by the tropics, where we like to think pirates hang out, right, matey?

It’s not necessary to present a pirate-themed party to enjoy these drinks. They are wonderfully refreshing any time, no theme necessary.

And no rum, either. Rum often seems to be the main or only ingredient in tropical drink recipes but it isn’t the only spirit on the high seas.

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Sea Breeze Recipe

What you’ll need to get started:

A highball glass filled with ice, and the following ingredients:

2 jiggers (2 measures) vodka
2 jiggers (2 measures) grapefruit juice
3 jiggers (3 measures) cranberry juice
Garnish: lime slice or wedge or three fresh cranberries on a skewer

Pour all ingredients over the ice. Garnish as desired.

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Sea Dog Recipe

What you’ll need to get started:

A highball glass, ice, and the following ingredients:

1 sugar cube (2 cubes are OK, too)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 orange wedges
2 lemon wedges
1 Tablespoon (2/3 measure) Scotch
1 jigger (1 measure) Benedictine liqueur*
2 jiggers (2 measures) club soda

Place the sugar cube(s) into the bottom of an empty highball glass. Pour the bitters over the sugar and let it absorb / dissolve a minute before adding the orange and lemon wedges. Use a muddling tool (or the handle end of a wooden mixing spoon from the kitchen) to coax the juices out of the fruit. Fill the glass half full with ice and add the other ingredients. There should be plenty of room left in the glass to continue muddling that fruit with a straw as you drink it.

*Benedictine is a cognac-based liqueur flavored with infused herbs. It’s really good! Enjoy it solo, in a brandy snifter or in a rocks glass over crushed ice.

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Salty Dog Recipe

What you’ll need to get started:

A highball glass with a salted rim,* ice, and the following ingredients:

2 jiggers (2 measures) vodka
4 ounces (5 measures) grapefruit juice

Pour vodka over ice in prepared highball glass and top with grapefruit juice.

*To salt the rim of a glass, rub it with a wedge of lime or lemon before inverting the now-damp rim of the glass into a saucer filled with a thin layer of salt. Kosher salt works great and isn’t as expensive as some of the specialty salts sold in liquor stores for this purpose.

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Yellow Parrot Recipe

What you’ll need to get started:

A cocktail shaker and strainer, ice, a cocktail glass filled with crushed ice, and the following ingredients:

1 jigger (1 measure) absinthe
1 jigger (1 measure) yellow Chartreuse liqueur**
1 jigger (1 measure) apricot brandy

Pour all ingredients over ice in a shaker and shake till shaker is cold outside. Strain the drink into the ice-filled cocktail glass.

**Chartreuse is similar to Benedictine in that it’s an herbal-infused brandy-based liqueur. See Benedictine notes above for serving suggestions.