The basic recipe
where it all begins
Fill a highball glass to the brim with ice cubes. More ice makes the blue look deeper.
Pour the spirit over the ice and top up with chilled lemonade.
Slowly pour the blue curaçao into the glass last, over the back of a bar spoon.
Add a slice of citrus and pass the glass along while you can still see the layers.
What did you think of this recipe?
One click on a star is all it takes. If you’d like to add a comment, we’ll review it before it appears here.
Save this recipe
Send the Blue Curaçao cocktail recipes to your own email, so you have them on hand when you’re ready to make one. You’ll also get a €5 discount code on orders over €50, for the matching glasses.
Where does that blue come from?
Curaçao liqueur is made from the dried peel of the laraha. This is a bitter citrus fruit from the island of Curaçao, descended from the Spanish orange. The fruit never became edible in the dry, salty soil, but its peel did develop a particularly strong aroma. The liqueur is clear by itself. The blue color was added in the twentieth century to make the bottle stand out behind the bar. It worked, because the bottle is now more famous than the fruit. What you taste is simply orange; the color doesn't affect that. You can also get the same liqueur in orange, green and red.
The right glass
For a blue cocktail, the glass does half the work. Always choose clear, colorless glass. A tint or heavy facets make the blue cloudy, giving you something gray-green. Tall and narrow works better than wide. The color looks deeper, and the transition from light to dark stays crisp for longer. A long drink glass of 33 to 47 cl is what most bars use. For creamy recipes like the Swimming Pool, choose a hurricane glass.
Onis Icon Long Drink Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Bormioli Rocco Diamond Long Drink Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Together € 57,90. Clear glass, just what blue needs.
The right tools
For a Blue curaçao cocktail, along with the glass, use a shaker, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus press and glass straws. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our pick 01) + 4 bar tools together € 92,75.
What do you make these Blue curaçao cocktails with?
You’ll need blue curaçao for these blue curaçao cocktails. Well-known bottles include De Kuyper and Bols. Each drink page tells you the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in, and which glass you need.
The six best-known blue cocktails
Frequently asked questions
What does blue curaçao taste like?
It tastes like orange, both bitter and sweet. It’s the same type of liqueur as triple sec and Cointreau. The only difference is that it’s made from laraha peel and colored blue.
What glass should you use for a blue cocktail?
A clear, colorless highball glass, 33 to 47 cl. Browse our highball glasses or, for creamy recipes, our hurricane glasses.
Why is my blue cocktail turning green?
The blue mixes with a yellow juice, often pineapple or orange. So pour in the blue curaçao last, slowly and over a spoon. Don’t stir afterward.
Can you substitute blue curaçao?
For the flavor, yes, triple sec does the same thing. Not for the color. You’ll need blue syrup for that, which also lets you make an alcohol-free version.
Everything for your bar,
at one address
Professional-quality glasses, sold in sets. Order today, delivered quickly.
Shop the glasses →