Blue Hawaii Cocktail
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What I Love About This Blue Hawaii
I have been making tropical drinks for years, and this is the one I reach for when I want something that looks like a vacation but drinks like a real cocktail.
- The homemade sweet and sour mix keeps it tart instead of syrupy, so it works as a sipping drink rather than a novelty.
- I use a little more liquor than the standard pour, which balances the pineapple juice instead of letting it take over.
- Five ingredients and one shaker means I can make a round for guests without leaving the conversation.
- The color does all the decorating for me, which matters when I am hosting and already have six other things going.
- After 25 years in professional kitchens, I know exactly which corners are worth cutting here and which are not. The sweet and sour is the one worth making.
Table of Contents
What Is a Blue Hawaii?
A Blue Hawaii is a tiki cocktail made with light rum, vodka, blue curacao, sweet and sour mix, and pineapple juice. Harry Yee created it in 1957 at the Hawaiian Village hotel in Waikiki, now the Hilton Hawaiian Village. A sales rep from the Dutch distiller Bols asked him to build a drink around their blue curacao, and this is what he landed on after several tries.
Yee also gets credit for putting the first paper umbrella and the first vanda orchid in a cocktail. That tiny umbrella you still see on tiki drinks today started with him.
One thing worth clearing up: the cocktail came before the Elvis movie. The film came out in 1961, four years after the drink.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Vodka – it’s best to keep the vodka plain and unflavored. There are a few different flavors in this drink already, you don’t want to add too much to the mix.
- White Rum – try to use rum (and vodka) that isn’t bottom shelf! Your cocktail will only be as good as the liquor you use. While you don’t necessarily need a top shelf bottle, you still want a good quality rum and vodka.
- Blue Curacao – The blue curacao gives the the cocktail its lovely blue color, and it provides a gentle citrus flavor that greatly compliments the pineapple juice.
- Sweet and Sour Mix – For best results, use a quick equal mix of fresh lemon juice and simple syrup or homemade sweet and sour mix.
- Pineapple Juice – You can use any pineapple juice you’d like for this recipe.
The best advice about ingredients in this cocktail comes from it’s creator himself, Harry Yee. Harry once said, “The blue Hawaii has to have vodka to be correct. And Bols curacao, because the others I don’t care for.“
How to Make a Blue Hawaii
- First, start off by combining all of the ingredients for the cocktail in a cocktail shaker. To make sure it’s nice and cold, toss some ice cubes in there as well.
- Close the lid tightly and shake for a few seconds.
- Strain the cocktail into the glass of your choice with some crushed ice. If you want to keep things traditionally beachy, use hurricane glasses!
- Garnish your glass with a pineapple wedge or a slice of lemon. Other fun garnishes include pineapple leaves, maraschino cherries, tiny umbrellas, or any other tiki-inspired toppings. This is definitely a drink to have fun with!
Can You Make Blue Hawaii Ahead of Time?
Yes, as long as you leave the ice out until you pour.
- Store: in the refrigerator in a sealed pitcher or bottle for up to 24 hours. Stir before serving, since the pineapple juice separates.
- Sweet and sour mix: keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in a jar with an airtight lid, so I make a batch at the start of cocktail season.
- Do not freeze the mixed drink. Alcohol keeps it from freezing solid, so you end up with a slushy mess. Mix it fresh.
How to Make Blue Hawaii for a Crowd
- Multiply everything by the number of drinks you need and stir it together in a pitcher. Leave the ice out until serving.
- For a party of eight, that comes to 1 cup vodka, 1 cup white rum, 1 cup blue curacao, 1 cup sweet and sour mix, and 3 cups pineapple juice. Give the pitcher a good stir right before you pour, since the juice settles.
Blue Hawaii Cocktail Recipe FAQs
The Blue Hawaii was first invented in 1957 by a famous bartender named Henry Yee in Honolulu’s Kaiser Hawaiian Village at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort. Rumor has it that he had a picky liquor rep at his bar that was asking him to create a very particular cocktail with involved specific mix of flavors (and the liquor he was pushing).
Low and behold, Yee created something very special to add to his tiki cocktail repertoire! Henry Yee is recognized as the king of tropical tiki cocktails and it’s easy to see why.
Although they sounds almost the same, these two cocktails are actually different. They are both blue rum tiki cocktails, but the make up of each is a very different.
A Blue Hawaii is a cocktail that combines vodka, rum, blue curacao, sweet and sour mix, and pineapple juice. A Blue Hawaiian is not just a sweeter cocktail, but is a little creamy as well. It contains rum, pineapple juice, blue curacao, and cream of coconut. It can be served shaken over the rocks or blended. Think of the Blue Hawaiian as closer to a piña colada with blue curacao in it.
Hanry Yee once said, “The blue Hawaii has to have vodka to be correct. And Bols curacao, because the others I don’t care for.” While I believe that you can variate the brand name, you should stick with vodka and blue curacao! In total, this cocktail contains vodka, rum, and blue curacao.
Some More Summer Cocktail Recipes
- Bahama Mama – a fruity rum cocktail that hits the same beachy note with a completely different flavor profile.
- Coconut Mojito – fresh mint, lime, coconut rum, and coconut syrup for bold coconut flavor without any heaviness.
- Calypso Cooler – my copycat of the Chili’s classic, with spiced rum, peach schnapps, orange juice, and grenadine.
- Rum Punch – a Jamaican-style cocktail built on orange and pineapple juices with both light and dark rums.
- Rum Drinks You Should Try – my full roundup if you want to work your way through the whole rum shelf.
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Classic Blue Hawaii Recipe With Rum and Vodka
Ingredients
- 1 oz vodka
- 1 oz white rum
- 1 oz blue curacao
- 1 oz sweet and sour mix 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 3 oz pineapple juice
- pineapple wedge for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with some ice, close it tight, and shake for a few seconds.
- Strain the cocktail into a hurricane glass with crushed ice.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge or lemon slice, pineapple leaf, cherries, umbrellas, or any other tiki style garnishes.
Notes
Nutrition
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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Plan on having this by the pool this weekend!