Classic Fuzzy Navel Drink Recipe

The Fuzzy Navel doesn’t have a long history. It comes from a generation of drinks from the early 1980s that inspires detractors, if not outright disdain and hatred. It’s true that it seems to be a little fu-fu and designed to appeal to young drinkers. It’s all about fun. Sweet drinks are fun! Damn taste!

You certainly shouldn’t ask for a fuzzy navel at your local dive bar. But if you have no problem with a mimosa for brunch, you probably wouldn’t turn your nose up to this peachy alternative. It isn’t nearly as strong as a screwdriver but if you like those, you may well appreciate the fuzzy navel. Perhaps if it had a tougher name and didn’t call to mind a lint-filled belly button.

The fuzzy navel gets its name from its ingredients, peach schnapps (understanding some of that hatred), and orange juice. Peaches have a fuzzy skin and the most popular orange in America is the navel orange.

Peach schnapps is as new as the drink itself. The first peach schnapps was introduced to America by DeKuper in 1984, called DeKuyper’s Peachtree Schnapps. The invention of the drink is often attributed to bartender Ray Foley who is the writer of Bartending for Dummies.

There are some variations such as the Hairy Navel, which replaces half of the peach schnapps with vodka, and the Fuzzy Pucker, which uses grapefruit juice instead of orange juice.

Feel free to vary the proportions of peach schnapps to orange juice to your liking. Every recipe seems to call for different proportions. Some contain four times as much orange juice as peach schnapps. The classic calls for equal parts of each ingredient.

Fuzzy Navel Recipe

Ingredients

1 3/4 oz peach schnapps
3 oz orange juice

Instructions

Put ice in a rocks glass and pour the schnapps over the ice. Pour the orange juice over top and stir well.

You can, of course, make a large version using a highball. And, it’s not unheard of to use an ice filled shaker to mix the drink, especially when vodka is added, as in the Harry Navel.