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Here are the ingredients you need to make the Blue Hawaii drink! Its ocean-tinted hue is thanks to blue curacao liqueur.
Here’s a bright blue drink that’s as beautiful as the ocean: the Blue Hawaii! This one is as classic 1950’s as it gets, from the crushed ice to the drink umbrella. Both vodka and rum feature in this sweet tart drink, along with a secret ingredient that brings in its ocean-tinted color.
As a blue drink lover myself, this one is one of my favorites. You’ll need to grab a few special ingredients, but it’s 100% worth it!
Blue Hawaii Drink Ingredients
The Blue Hawaii is a tropical cocktail made with rum, vodka, blue curacao, and pineapple juice. It was invented in 1957 by a bartender named Harry Yee in Waikiki, Hawaii. A sales rep asked Harry to create a drink with his company’s product, blue curacao. Yee whipped up this drinks and named it after the song Blue Hawaii. Here are the Blue Hawaii drink ingredients you’ll need to whip it up at home:
- White rum
- Vodka (or use 100% rum)
- Blue curacao
- Pineapple juice
- Sweet and sour mix or fresh lemon juice, lime juice, and simple syrup
One note on tiki culture and appropriation: Bartenders in the 1950’s created drinks that popularized a faux Hawaiian tiki culture, but did little to value actual Hawaiian people and their culture. Read more about the history of Tiki culture here.
Blue Hawaii vs Blue Hawaiian: what’s the difference?
Is the Blue Hawaii cocktail the same as a Blue Hawaiian? Actually, the two drinks are different. The Blue Hawaiian cocktail is actually an adaptation of the Blue Hawaii that’s more like a piña colada. Blue Hawaii is shaken and citrusy, and Blue Hawaiian is blended and creamy.
| Blue Hawaii | Blue Hawaiian | |
|---|---|---|
| Spirits | White rum + vodka, blue curaçao | White rum, blue curaçao |
| Mixers | Pineapple juice, fresh lemon and lime, simple syrup | Pineapple juice, cream of coconut |
| Method | Shaken, poured over crushed ice | Blended with ice |
| Tastes like | Sweet-tart, citrus-forward, tropical | Sweet and creamy |
| Origin | Waikiki, 1957, by bartender Harry Yee | A riff on the original |
Using Fresh Citrus
The Blue Hawaii drink is often made with sour mix in a bar or restaurant setting. Purchased sour mix can be intensely sweet and artificial tasting, and usually makes for an overly sweet drink. For our spin on the Blue Hawaii drink, I wanted to use fresh squeezed citrus for maximum fresh flavor. Here’s how to do it:
- Use fresh lemon and lime juice, with simple syrup. It’s easy to do, and results in bright, beautiful fresh flavors.
- Or, use homemade sour mix! I have a great recipe for a sweet and sour mix with fresh lime and lemon juice. (You can use leftovers for a whiskey sour or margarita.)
More About Blue Curaçao
Blue curacao (pronounced Cure-ah-souw) is key to the Blue Hawaii drink and it gives it its beautiful ocean-tinted hue. It’s an artificially-colored orange liqueur invented in the 19th century by Dutch settlers on the island of Curaçao. There are several colors of Curaçao, the most popular of which are clear and blue. Blue curacao is flavored with the Laraha orange peel, a type of orange that grows on the island.
- What does blue curacao taste like? It has a sweet orange peel flavor, with subtle bitter finish.
- Curaçao is actually one of two categories of orange liqueurs: Curaçao and Triple Sec. Curaçao is the original orange liqueur and is typically sweeter than Triple Sec, a dryer style of orange liqueur and what’s typically used in a margarita.
- What else can you use it for? Mix up a Blue Margarita, Blue Lagoon, Aqua Velva, or the Blue Long Island.
Vodka vs Straight White Rum
There are lots of variations on the Blue Hawaii: every bar and restaurant makes it differently! While all Blue Hawaii drinks include rum, you’ll find some with both rum and vodka. I used both here to make it a more interesting drink. But you can certainly use all rum if that’s all you have!
White rum is the most common for this drink: it has a crisp, straightforward flavor. While you could also use aged rum (añejo rum), note that it may give the drink a green-ish tinge. Steer clear of dark rum, since the flavor profile is different and it muddies the color of the drink.
Why Is My Blue Hawaii Green Instead of Blue?
Some readers have had their Blue Hawaii drink turn out as more of a green color. Here’s what to know:
- The color of this drink more of a turquoise. Because it contains pineapple juice, a Blue Hawaii tends towards blue-green or turquoise.
- The brand of pineapple juice can affect the color. Brands vary from pale yellow to deep golden, so you’ll want a pineapple juice that is lighter in color if possible.
- Your blue curaçao can vary in intensity. The type of blue curaçao can also affect the color. I used Drillauds to get this color.
- Make sure to use white rum, not aged. Aged or añejo rum adds more yellow to the mix, making it more green.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This Blue Hawaii recipe uses 1 ounce of rum, 1 ounce of vodka, and ¾ ounce of blue curaçao, which is somewhere around 15% ABV.
Sweet-tart and tropical, with fruity notes from pineapple and citrusy notes from the orange liqueur. It’s closer to a tropical whiskey sour than to anything creamy.
A hurricane glass is traditional, which shows off the color and holds enough crushed ice to matter. You can also use a Collins glass, a large wine glass, or a pint glass.
Yes, use 2 ounces of white rum and skip the vodka.
Blue Hawaii Drink
Here are the ingredients you need to make the Blue Hawaii drink! Its ocean-tinted hue is thanks to blue curacao liqueur.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Shaken
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ounce* white rum
- 1 ounce** vodka
- ¾ ounce blue curacao
- 2 ounces pineapple juice
- ½ ounce lime juice (or use 1 ½ ounces homemade sour mix for the lime, lemon and simple syrup)
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- Crushed ice, for serving
- For the garnish: pineapple wedge, cocktail cherry, drink umbrella (optional)
Instructions
- Place the rum, vodka, blue curacao, pineapple juice, lime juice, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add 2 handfuls of ice and shake until cold.
- Strain the drink into a hurricane glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and cherry.
Notes
*For conversion to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons
**If you prefer, use 2 ounces rum and omit the vodka.
More Pineapple Juice Cocktails To Try
The final major component of the Blue Hawaii is pineapple juice! This tasty juice gives it a sweet tart, tropical flair. There are lots of great drinks that use pineapple juice to bring beautiful fruity flavor. Here are a few pineapple juice cocktails to use up your bottle:
- Make the classic piña colada, or a pineapple margarita with tequila and lime
- Try the Painkiller cocktail, a sophisticated spin on the pina colada
- Go classy with a French Martini, or mix up the complicated yet classic Singapore Sling
- Combine it with Campari to make a Jungle Bird
Definitely green. Think it could be blue with lots more blue curaçao than indicated by the recipe but I’m not sure my teeth would thank me for adding any more sugar, so green is just fine. A lovely shade of green it is too!
great recipe. i need more
Tastes great but mine looks a lot greener than the one pictured.
Same here! Much greener. I also needed it to blue.
Pineapple (yellow) and blue curaçao (blue) =green.
Great recipe though, tastes great but definitely not the color “blue” pictured.
The one I made was extremely blue so you guys must’ve messed up.