The Pineapple Crush takes the Eastern Shore format somewhere tropical, pouring fresh pineapple juice over the usual vodka and triple sec. Pineapple brings its own sweetness and a soft acidity, so this is the roundest and most easygoing of the crushes — a beach drink in the most literal sense.
Pineapple is sweet enough to need no help and acidic enough to need no apology.
The Crush Goes Tropical
By the time crush menus had grown to a full page, pineapple was an inevitable addition — sweet, juicy, and a natural partner for vodka. The Pineapple Crush is the same built-over-crushed-ice idea with pineapple juice in the citrus seat. It is the least tart of the family and, like its siblings, a menu descendant of the 1995 Orange Crush rather than a drink with a documented origin of its own.
The Spec
Fresh pineapple juice makes an enormous difference here — it is thicker, brighter, and far less cloying than the canned version, and it gives the drink a light natural froth when stirred. Vodka and triple sec hold their usual places, and only a small splash of soda is needed, since pineapple already brings plenty of body.
Fresh Pineapple, or Skip It
This is the crush most punished by cartoned juice. Fresh pineapple is bright and lightly tart; the canned stuff is flat and syrupy and turns the drink heavy. If you only have canned juice, cut it with a little extra lemon-lime soda and a squeeze of fresh lime to wake it back up.
The Orange Crush Family
The 1995 Ocean City original — vodka and triple sec over ice, fresh-squeezed orange, a splash of lemon-lime soda.
- 2 ozVodka
- 1 ozTriple sec
- 3 ozFresh orange juice
Fresh grapefruit in place of orange — tart, faintly bitter, blush-pink.
- 2 ozVodka
- 1 ozTriple sec
- 3 ozFresh grapefruit juice
Crush-format lemonade — fresh lemon and a little sugar, bracing and clean.
- 2 ozVodka
- 1 ozTriple sec
- 1 ozFresh lemon juice
Jameson Irish whiskey in place of vodka — a rounder, lightly toasty crush.
- 2 ozJameson Irish whiskey
- 1 ozTriple sec
- 3 ozFresh orange juice