United States

Fuzzy Navel

Also known as Fuzz

A simple two-ingredient highball that tastes like adult peach juice, heavy on the sweet and easy on the booze.

peachorangesweetjuicyvodkaeasy-drinkingfruitylow-alcoholsummercandy

ABV

Difficulty

Overview

What this drink is like

The first sip is all peach candy and bright orange, very sweet and soft. The middle stays sugary with a faint warmth from the vodka underneath. It finishes short and fruity, leaving a sticky-sweet peach flavor on your tongue.

Who will like it

This is for people who like sweet, fruity drinks and want something cold and easy without tasting the alcohol.

When to drink

Serve this at a summer cookout or beach day when you want a cold, low-effort drink that goes down fast.

Ordering tip

Ask the bartender to add a splash of cranberry juice if you want to cut the sweetness and turn it into a Woo Woo.

Ice: CubedTemp: ColdCost: $2–$4Glass: HighballBatch-friendlyMake aheadHome bar friendly

Flavor

Taste profile

This drink hits you with sweet peach candy right away, backed up by familiar orange juice flavor. It is very sweet and not very strong, so the alcohol stays hidden. The body is light and juicy, making it go down easy on a hot day. There is no bitterness or depth to it; what you taste on the first sip is exactly what you get to the last. It is about as simple and fruity as a cocktail gets.

Finish: The finish is short and sweet, leaving a sticky peach flavor that fades quickly.

Primary tastes

sweetfruity

Secondary

sour

Aroma

ripe peachfresh orange

Sweetnessvery sweet
The peach schnapps and orange juice combine for an intensely sugary drink that borders on candy-like.
Sournesslow acidity
A faint tartness from the orange juice shows up, but it gets buried under the heavy sweetness.
Strengthmild strength
The alcohol is well hidden by the juice and schnapps, making it feel light even with a full shot of vodka.
Refreshingquite refreshing
Cold orange juice over lots of ice makes this a cooling, easy-drinking sipper for hot weather.
Creaminesslight body
The drink has a soft, slightly syrupy texture from the schnapps but no creaminess.

Recipe

Make it at home

Built · Highball · equal parts on Vodka. Unflavored vodka works best so it doesn't clash with the peach

Before you start

Pull your orange juice out of the fridge and grab some fresh ice. If you have an orange, cut a thin slice now for the garnish.

Ingredients

VodkaBase Spirit45ml
Peach SchnappsLiqueur45ml
Orange JuiceJuiceFresh squeezed is best, but store-bought works fine120ml

Garnish: Orange slice, Maraschino cherry

Tools

Highball glass · Serving
Holds the drink and ice
At home: Any tall drinking glass
Jigger · Measuring
Measures the vodka and peach schnapps
At home: Shot glass or measuring cup
Bar spoon · Mixing
Stirs the drink together
At home: Long spoon or chopstick

Steps

1
Fill a highball glass to the top with ice cubes. The more ice you use, the colder the drink stays and the less it waters down.
!Using too little ice makes the drink warm up and get watery fast.
2
Pour 45ml of vodka and 45ml of peach schnapps directly over the ice. The schnapps is thick and sweet, so it will sink to the bottom at first.
3
Top it off with about 120ml of orange juice, pouring it right down the middle. Leave a little room at the top of the glass so it doesn't spill when you stir.
!Overfilling the glass makes a mess when you try to stir.
4
Take your bar spoon and stir gently for about ten seconds until the peach schnapps mixes up from the bottom and the drink looks one solid color. You'll know it's mixed when you don't see the clear schnapps layer anymore.
~10s
!Stirring too fast splashes the juice over the rim.
5
Drop an orange slice and a cherry right on top of the ice. Serve it right away while it's still cold.

Serve

Serve it in the highball glass you built it in, packed with ice. Drink it soon before the ice melts and dilutes the peach flavor.

Variations

Ingredient substitutions

Each row shows what you can swap in place of an original ingredient, and how the drink changes.

Swap options for Peach Schnapps

Peach SchnappsPeach Brandy
Match
Specialty availability
Peach Schnapps → Peach Brandy: Adds a richer, deeper peach flavor with less syrupy sweetness and more alcohol heat.

Swap options for Orange Juice

Orange JuiceCranberry Juice
Match
Common availability
Orange Juice → Cranberry Juice: Turns the drink into a Woo Woo, adding tartness and drying out the sweetness significantly.

Similar cocktails

Cousin drinks that share DNA with this one — each profile stands on its own.

Similar cocktail

Woo Woo

The Woo Woo swaps orange juice for cranberry juice, adding a tart, dry edge the Fuzzy Navel lacks.

Match

Both drinks taste like peach candy, but the Woo Woo has a sharp cranberry bite that cuts the sweetness, making it less cloying than the Fuzzy Navel.

In common: built drink, very sweet, 1980s party drink, low complexity

Ingredients

Both share

Vodka, Peach Schnapps

Only in Fuzzy Navel

Orange Juice

Only in Woo Woo

Cranberry Juice

The only difference is the juice mixer; orange juice makes it sweet and thick, while cranberry juice adds tartness and a red color.

Flavor

Shared flavors

dominant peach flavor, hidden alcohol, sweet profile

How Woo Woo differs

tarter, drier finish, less syrupy

View recipe & details →

Similar cocktail

Screwdriver

The Screwdriver drops the peach schnapps entirely, resulting in a drier, stronger-tasting drink.

Match

The Screwdriver lets the vodka and orange juice speak evenly, while the Fuzzy Navel piles so much peach sweetness on top that the vodka disappears entirely.

In common: built drink, orange juice forward, brunch staple, simple two-ingredient structure

Ingredients

Both share

Vodka, Orange Juice

Only in Fuzzy Navel

Peach Schnapps

The Fuzzy Navel adds a full pour of peach schnapps to the basic Screwdriver formula, doubling the sweetness.

Flavor

Shared flavors

bright orange juice, vodka base, cold and refreshing

How Screwdriver differs

much sweeter, peach flavored, lower relative alcohol bite

View recipe & details →

Similar cocktail

Sex on the Beach

Sex on the Beach adds cranberry juice, making it tart and pink instead of purely sweet.

Match

Sex on the Beach takes the Fuzzy Navel's candy-sweet base and balances it with cranberry's tartness, making it easier to drink more than one.

In common: vodka base, peach schnapps, sweet and fruity, 1980s origin

Ingredients

Both share

Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Orange Juice

Only in Sex on the Beach

Cranberry Juice

Sex on the Beach builds directly on the Fuzzy Navel by adding cranberry juice to the exact same base ingredients.

Flavor

Shared flavors

peach and orange mix, sweet profile, juice-forward

How Sex on the Beach differs

tart cranberry edge, pink color, slightly more complex

View recipe & details →

History

Origin

The Fuzzy Navel emerged in the 1980s during the surge of flavored schnapps and simple built drinks. The name plays on the fact that peach schnapps is fuzzy and orange juice gives you a navel, though the exact creator and bar are unknown.

Era: 1980s
Confidence

The recipe proportions vary slightly across sources, but the 1:1:2.5 ratio of vodka to schnapps to orange juice is the most common standard.

Practical

Tips & pitfalls

What works at home and what to skip when making this drink.

Tips

Worth knowing before you pour

Use fresh orange juice if you can; it cuts the schnapps sweetness better than store-bought.
Chill your glass in the freezer for five minutes to keep the drink colder longer.
Stir well to mix the heavy schnapps up from the bottom before drinking.
Add a dash of Angostura bitters on top if the drink tastes too sweet.

Avoid

Common mistakes

Don't use cheap peach schnapps; it tastes like cough syrup.
Don't skip the stir or the schnapps sinks to the bottom.
Don't use pulp-heavy orange juice; it makes the texture muddy.