IN 1979 the singer-songwriter and patron saint of island escapism, Jimmy Buffett, released a song called “Boat Drinks.” While it captures the deep-winter yearning to “go where there ain’t any snow,” the lyrics go into zero detail about just what goes into a boat drink.

We reached out to Mr. Buffett for insight. When he failed to respond, we turned to the next best source: Rob Crabtree, co-owner (though he prefers the title co-captain) of Boat Drinks, a St. Augustine, Fla., bar that opened in December 2019. (After closing during the pandemic, the bar reopened in September 2020.)

“Boat drinks are a state of mind,” Mr. Crabtree said. “Whatever you’re enjoying around the water, the pool, a boat, that’s a boat drink.”

“ ‘It’s not just downing Martinis or Old Fashioneds; they don’t go well with the sun and water.’ ”

Boat drinks are generally easy to make and easy to drink. Relatively low in alcohol, they’re “sessionable” in bartender parlance, Mr. Crabtree noted. More often than not, they’re made with rum or lightened with a bubbly mixer. Bonus points if the drink can be transported in a cooler.

“It’s something you can enjoy out in the sun,” Mr. Crabtree emphasized. “It’s not just downing Martinis or Old Fashioneds; they don’t go well with the sun and water.”

Mr. Crabtree includes in the definition (and his menu) tropical cocktails and updates on guilty pleasures like the Bushwhacker (a creamy mix of rum, coffee and creme de cacao) and the Miami Vice (a frozen strawberry daiquiri and frozen pina colada layered in the same glass). However, Mr. Crabtree excludes tiki drinks as “too Disney -esque and over-the-top.” A “fun and relaxed” feeling is what he’s going for.

Frozen drinks made in blenders or pulled from slushy-style machines also are a staple. “You find them at a lot of pool bars and bars in and around marinas,” Mr. Crabtree said. “We took a lot of inspiration from old-school Florida bars you could pull up to on a boat.”

The bar’s Fro-Jito, a snowy-white, slushy version of the classic Mojito, blends white rum, sugar and lime juice with ice. A splash of Rumple Minze, a peppermint schnapps, stands in for fresh mint, which can turn muddy or bitter when blended, Mr. Crabtree said. The end result: a drink that’s “nice and minty without being overpowering.”

Mr. Buffett may have popularized boat drinks with his song, but he didn’t invent the concept. Mr. Crabtree trademarked the phrase for merchandising purposes. “At some point, everyone who’s on a boat has a drink and hangs out,” he said.

But is a boat required to properly enjoy a boat drink? Of course not, said Mr. Crabtree. “You can sit at a bar and have a boat drink. You don’t have to be by the water. It should just be a drink that transforms your thoughts of where you’re at.”

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