If This Beach Were a Cocktail

2. Sullivan’s Island

This is your beach if you’re nostalgic for old beach houses but picky about cocktails

On Sullivan’s Island, a walk through a bit of marsh will lead to the beachfront. Sometimes there are wildflowers or quaint wooden bridges over tidal creeks too. The beach itself is more laid-back with fewer co-eds on spring break and in the mornings, locals bring their dogs to play until 10am. And you won’t be disappointed if you go extra early to catch an SC sunrise over the horizon. If you’re staying on island, golf carts are a popular mode of travel and houses here are ideally sized to share with a group.

Bars and restaurants line Middle Street; the main thoroughfare includes notable spots like Home Team BBQ, Sullivan’s Fish Camp, Poe’s Tavern, and The Obstinate Daughter. End your evening with a gelato from Beardcat’s Sweet Shop.

The caliber of dining options is high on Sullivan’s, so if this were a cocktail, the “Nine Lives” at Sullivan’s Fish Camp would be it. It’s sophisticated, but still beachy. The cocktail is a unique take on a margarita with the addition of horchata simple syrup made from local Carolina Gold rice, and the tequila comes from island resident and celebrity actor Danny McBride.

Sullivan’s Fish Camp – Nine Lives

• 5 oz Don Gato Blanco
• 1 oz hibiscus tea
• .75 oz lime juice
• 1 oz Horchata Simple Syrup
• How to: stir 4 cups water, 4 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup uncooked Carolina Gold rice and ½ cinnamon stick crushed.
• Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.
• Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and .5 oz Bitterman’s Mole Bitters
• Shake and strain over fresh ice
• Garnish with chipotle salt and lime wheel

3. Pawleys Island

This is your beach if you prefer a screened porch to a rooftop bar

Pawleys Island is best for travelers who want beach time without spectacle, just sand and the warm, gentle Atlantic Ocean. It’s the epitome of the ‘90s shabby-chic trend, with family homes passed down through generations, salt-worn and unchanged by time. The barrier island, less than four miles long, offers a chance to slow down. Paddle through Pawleys Creek to take in the rich marshlands or try your hand at crabbing off one of the docks.

Options for better dining include Perrone’s Restaurant & Bar, Frank’s, and Rustic Table. Pawleys is less about nightlife and more about the connection with family, the land, and the coastal South. Pawleys is part of the Hammock Coast, which also offers collected sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens, the Gullah Geechee Museum in Georgetown, and lots of impressive golf courses and cute shopping.

A classic beach vacation calls for a classic tropical drink. The “Pearl Diver” is a traditional tiki drink found on the extensive cocktail list at Perrone’s. Fresh juice and rum combine with gardenia mix (butter, honey, cinnamon, and baking spices), and while it has nothing to do with the flower, we like to think it gives the drink a Southern touch.

Perrone’s – Pearl Diver

• 5 oz Bacardi Gold Rum
• .5 oz Appleton Estate Signature Rum
• .75 oz Hamilton 86 Demarara Rum
• 1 oz fresh orange juice
• .75 oz fresh lime juice
• .25 oz Tippleman’s Double-Spiced Falernum Syrup
• 1 oz Don’s Gardenia Mix
• Mix all ingredients in a shaker cup, add ice, shake well.
• Strain into Pearl Diver Glass filled with crushed ice.
• Garnish with pineapple frond and fun tiki accoutrements

4. Myrtle Beach

This is your beach if you’re more boardwalk than beach read

Part of the Grand Strand, Myrtle Beach is a draw for spring breakers, weekend golfers, family reunions, bachelorette parties, and snowbirds in the winter. It’s a beach playground, and it’s not shy about it. There is a plethora of entertainment options when you’re not in the ocean; you’ll find elaborate mini golf courses, live shows, kids’ museums, aquariums, amusement parks, and more. It’s a high-volume beach for high-energy fun. The 1.2-mile-long Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade is a popular attraction.

If you’re looking for something quieter, head up to North Myrtle Beach, where the pace slows and offers a brand of charming nostalgia. Don’t think it’s boring though; the shag dancers at Fat Harold’s Beach Club will give you a show. Frequented by dancers from across the South, these folks can teach you some serious moves in between rounds of neon-colored shooters with names like Purple Hooters or Pay Days.

Myrtle Beach is a choose-your-own-adventure vacation, so a swashbuckling cocktail seems appropriate. JEM Social’s “Denmark Tanny” was inspired by the series Outer Banks, which filmed at the historic Socastee Swing Bridge. It’s a cocktail with a nod to the treasure hunting lore woven into South Carolina’s coastline.

JEM Social – Denmark Tanny

• 2 oz Hilton Head Toasted Coconut Rum
• 6 basil leaves
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 3/4 oz orgeat
• Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice.
• Shake vigorously to break up the basil and chill the cocktail.
• Fine strain into a coupe glass to remove basil pieces.
• Garnish with a basil leaf.
• For a theatrical touch: Clip a chocolate coin with a small piece of flash paper to the side of the glass. Light to reveal the “treasure”

5. Hilton Head

With manicured lawns and plentiful palmetto trees, Hilton Head is a postcard portrait of a beach town. It’s the type of place where generations solidify vacation traditions and return year after year to rediscover its coastal charm. Options abound in Hilton Head for hotels, resorts, and coiffed gated communities.

Park the car and grab a bike to reach white-sand beaches, marinas, and tennis courts, as Hilton Head offers more than 60 miles of public bike paths to get around. Be sure to book a lighthouse tour or a sunset cruise. Hilton Head has a wealth of golf courses, including the Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines, home to the annual RBC Heritage.

Hilton Head offers a marked absence of neon and glitz, but a quiet luxury. Shopping, restaurants, and other activities will leave you wanting for nothing on Hilton Head, but perhaps more vacation time. That’s why you’re coming back next year.

Golf is a big draw for visitors to Hilton Head and The “Sweet Heat” at Hudson’s on the Docks starts with muddled jalapeño, which offers the verdant color of a fairway and an herbaceous flavor. Local Burnt Church cucumber vodka adds a gentle breeze to the cocktail.

Hudson’s On The Docks – Sweet Heat

• 5 oz of Burnt Church Cucumber Vodka
• .5 oz of Cointreau
• 2 slices of jalapeño, lightly muddled
• 2 lime wedges, squeezed
• Shake and pour over ice.
• Top with Sprite
• Garnish with a fresh lime wheel and jalapeño slice.

Erin Perkins is a writer and editor based in Charleston. She has covered the ever-changing restaurant scene across the South for the past 14 years.