The Blue Hawaii Cocktail Recipe
Courtesy Joey Gottesman, CSS, for The Reef Bar & Market Grill, Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, Waikiki, HI
The Blue Hawaii was created in 1957 by Waikiki bartender Harry Yee, when a sales rep for Dutch distiller Bols asked him to design a cocktail that featured its Blue Curaçao liqueur. (Yee also popularized tiny umbrellas in drinks.) So it only makes sense to sip a reimagined version while in Waikiki. Whether you enjoy the original recipe or this riff, “you should be able to hold the drink up against the ocean in the distance, and both should be the same shade of deep blue,” says Joey Gottesman, CSS, spirit specialist and mixologist for Young’s Market Company.
- ¾ ounce PAU Maui Vodka
- ¾ ounce Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
- 1 ounce Bols Blue Curaçao
- 2 ounces pineapple juice
- 1 lemon wedge
- Pineapple wedge and cherry, for garnish
In cocktail shaker, combine spirits and pineapple juice. Squeeze lemon wedge into shaker, then drop in wedge. Scoop in ice. Shake to combine, then pour contents (including ice and lemon wedge) into your favorite tiki tumbler, poco grande or hurricane glass. Add ice to fill glass. Garnish with pineapple wedge, cherry and a parasol.
