The Woo Woo recipe
for your table
Fill a longdrink glass to the rim with ice cubes.
Pour the vodka, peach schnapps and lime juice over the ice.
Top up with cranberry juice and stir briefly with a bar spoon.
Garnish with a lime slice and serve with a straw.
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The story
The Woo Woo appeared in American bars in the 1980s, in the same wave as the Sex on the Beach and the Fuzzy Navel: drinks in which peach schnapps played the leading role and cranberry juice was stocked in every fridge. Who poured the first one was never recorded. The name is usually explained as the sound guests made after a few rounds, but there is no evidence for that. What is certain is that the cocktail made its way to Europe through student bars and clubs and stayed on as a summer drink, usually in a tall glass and rarely with much ceremony.
The right glass
A tall longdrink glass with a capacity of 36 to 47 cl is the right size here. It holds plenty of ice, and the ice does the chilling because there is no fizzy mixer. Clear glass shows off the pink colour, which is the nicest part of the picture. A thick base sits firmly on a garden table and keeps the glass upright when you fill it to the rim. If you prefer to serve it as a shooter, you need something smaller; in that case, take a look at the shot glasses.
Onis Icon Longdrink Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Duralex Picardie Long Drink Glass 36 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 56,90.
The right tools
For a Woo Woo, besides the glass, use a bar spoon for stirring, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer and large ice cubes. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you’ll find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Large cubes melt slowly, so your drink gets less diluted
Glass set (our choice 01) + 4 bar tools together € 91,75.
Variations & twists
Swap the cranberry juice for pineapple juice and you’ll get a sweeter, more tropical drink. Add a splash of orange juice and it practically becomes a Sex on the Beach, the best-known cousin from the same family. Peach purée instead of schnapps gives you more fruit and less sugar. With prosecco instead of vodka, it becomes a light aperitif, and with a little less juice, a shorter drink for a small glass. Without alcohol, make a Virgin Sex on the Beach.
Serving tip
Choose cranberry juice without added sugar, because sweet supermarket juice turns it into candy together with the schnapps. Fill the glass completely with ice instead of halfway, so the drink dilutes more slowly. Squeeze the lime over the glass so the oils from the peel come along.
Good to know
The ratio: vodka, peach, and cranberry
This Woo Woo cocktail recipe keeps four parts vodka to three parts peach schnapps and eight parts cranberry juice, with one centiliter of lime juice for balance. In many bars, vodka and schnapps are used in equal parts, which makes it sweeter; half a centiliter less schnapps is immediately noticeable. Lime juice is not included in every recipe, but without that acidity, there is little to counter the fruit. If you want it stronger, increase the vodka to 5 cl and leave the rest as it is.
The same flavor as a shot
There is also a short version of the long drink, meant to be drunk in one go: equal parts vodka, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice, totaling about four centiliters per glass. Chill the bottles beforehand or stir briefly with ice and strain, because this drinks poorly when lukewarm. Measure with a jigger rather than by eye, especially when pouring eight at once; the measuring cups are with the jiggers. Cranberry juice that comes cold from the bottle helps, because there is no room for ice in such a small glass. The ratio stays the same; only the glass gets smaller.
Which cranberry juice to choose
The bottle often says cranberry nectar or cranberry drink; that is diluted juice with sugar and sometimes apple juice. It works for this cocktail, but you lose the bitter edge that makes the vodka easier to drink. Pure cranberry juice is tart and dry, so it calls for a little more schnapps or half a bar spoon of simple syrup. Taste the juice before pouring, because the difference between two brands is greater than the difference between two vodkas. Refrigerate an opened bottle and use it within a week.
The cranberry and vodka family
Cranberry juice with vodka is the basis for a whole range of long drinks. Without any further additions, it is called a Cape Codder; add grapefruit juice for the dry Sea Breeze, while the same combination with pineapple juice is called a Bay Breeze. The Woo Woo cocktail is the sweetest of the group because peach schnapps provides both flavor and sugar. If you rank them from dry to sweet, you start with the Sea Breeze and end here. Handy if you want to use one bottle of cranberry juice in three ways.
Prepare for a group
When making the Woo Woo for eight people, mix the vodka, schnapps and lime juice in advance in a jug and keep the cranberry juice separate. This keeps the color fresh and lets you add the right amount of ice to each glass. Allow four centiliters of vodka and three centiliters of schnapps per person, and top up with juice in the glass. Keep the jug chilled, but do not add ice: it will melt and dilute the whole batch before the first guest arrives. Stir briefly just before serving.
Less sweet or alcohol-free
Leave out the vodka and keep the schnapps, and you have a lighter drink with the same flavor. If you want to go completely alcohol-free, replace the schnapps with peach juice or a spoonful of peach purée and top up with cranberry juice and sparkling water; the lime juice then becomes more important to keep everything lively. The reverse works too: reduce the sweetness by replacing part of the cranberry juice with tonic. The color remains pink, the flavor becomes drier and the glass remains interesting for longer.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a Woo Woo cocktail?
A Woo Woo contains 4 cl vodka, 3 cl peach schnapps, 8 cl cranberry juice and 1 cl fresh lime juice, poured over a glass full of ice and garnished with a lime wheel. No shaking is needed: build it in the glass and briefly stir with a bar spoon.
Where does the cocktail's name, Woo Woo, come from?
There is no definitive explanation. The most common theory is that the name imitates the sound of guests who have had a few, but this has not been documented. What is certain is that the drink originated in the American 1980s, when peach schnapps was found in almost every bar.
What is the difference between it and a Sex on the Beach?
The ingredients are almost the same: vodka, peach schnapps and cranberry juice. A Sex on the Beach includes orange juice, making it sweeter and fuller. The Woo Woo remains crisper and sharper, especially with the lime juice. Put the two side by side and you mainly taste the difference the orange makes.
Which glass do you use for a Woo Woo?
A tall highball glass holding 36 to 47 cl, filled to the brim with ice. There is no fizzy mixer, so the ice has to do the cooling, and a spacious glass keeps the proportions balanced. Clear glass also shows off the pink color. When served as a shot, a 4 cl glass is sufficient.
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