We recently had a request for a Blue Hawaiian Mix and discussions started flying around the office as to what made good Blue Hawaiian. One of our customer service reps, Mike Jones, is an Islander and was considered our “authority” when tasting the finished beverage.
In looking it up on the ever informative Wikipedia, “The Blue Hawaii was invented in 1957 by Harry Yee, legendary head bartender of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Hawaii when a sales representative of Dutch distiller Bols asked him to design a drink that featured their blue color of Curaçao liqueur.”
We knew two things about a Blue Hawaiian… 1) It uses Blue Curacao (a delicate orange flavor) and 2) It is similar to a pina colada. When we verified this, we found there are two different types of Blue Hawaiians… The first is a simple mix that is similar to a margarita and uses rum or vodka. The other type incorporates coconut syrup, milk or cream and is only made with Rum. The color is blue.
I know that there are others who are more informed than I am about creating a hand-crafted mixed drink, so I sent a query to Linked-in’s US Bartender’s Directory, asking if anyone knew of a good recipe for a Blue Hawaiian. This is why I love networking on Linked-In…I immediately received a couple of replies.
Here’s one recipe that you might enjoy, courtesy of member Chris Milligan: 1 1/2 oz light rum 3 oz unsweetened pineapple juice 1 oz coconut syrup 1/2 oz blue Curaçao 1/2 oz lemon juice Crushed ice
Method: Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse to combine. Don't turn it into a slushy. Garnish with pineapple flag, fruit stick and/or mint sprig.
Another member, Mark Drummond, provided some insight into the rum itself. He offered a couple of suggestions to use, such as a spice rum, dark maple rum or an oak cask rum. However, he cautions, it will change the flavor.
I hope that you all enjoy trying a Blue Hawaiian, and hopefully our customer will like the mix we prepared. Nothing beats a field trip to Hawaii to soak in the sun and sip on an authentic Blue Hawaiian, though. Maybe in the winter!