The Blue Hawaii recipe
for your table
Shake all the ingredients briefly with plenty of ice.
Pour into a hurricane or tiki glass filled with fresh ice.
Check the color: bright turquoise blue.
Garnish with pineapple, a cherry and, essential for this drink, a parasol.
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The story
In 1957, Harry Yee, head bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, was asked by drinks company Bols to 'do something' with their blue curaçao. Yee, the man who is also said to have introduced the parasol to the cocktail world, mixed it with rum, vodka and pineapple, and named the result after the film of the same name that put Hawaii on the map. When Elvis sang on the beach in Blue Hawaii four years later, the cocktail was definitively immortalized. Not to be confused with the creamy Blue Hawaiian, which contains coconut cream.
The right glass
Blue Hawaii is a showstopper and calls for a glass with the same flair: a 44 to 47 cl hurricane glass in which the turquoise shimmers from top to bottom. The tall, curved shape makes the color look even deeper. A tall tiki glass or pineapple glass also fits the Waikiki vibe, as long as it is large, tropical and just a little over the top. For a true carved tiki glass, take a look at our tiki glasses.
Royal Leerdam Hurricane Cocktail Glass on Stem 44 cl (6 pieces)
Arcoroc Plain Can Cocktail Glass 48 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 68,90.
The right tools
For a Blue Hawaii, in addition to the glass, you use a shaker, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus press, long ice sticks and glass straws. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you'll find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 119,70.
What do you use to make a Blue Hawaii?
You need blue curaçao for a Blue Hawaii. On every drink page, you'll find the alcohol percentage, how it tastes, which cocktails it works well in and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
With a splash of coconut cream, it becomes the creamy Blue Hawaiian. Taste both and choose your beach. Add vodka (Harry Yee's original) to give it more body. And as a mocktail with blue curaçao syrup, it's the undisputed star of children's parties. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
A splash of coconut cream turns it into the creamy Blue Hawaiian. Try both and choose your favorite. The blue color stands out best against a white background, so keep your napkins in mind when serving.
Good to know
Blue Hawaii or Blue Hawaiian
Two names that differ by just one letter yet produce a different drink. The Blue Hawaii is the clear version: white rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and lemon, turquoise and translucent. The Blue Hawaiian adds 3 cl of coconut cream, making it opaque, pastel blue, and much creamier, somewhere between this cocktail and a Piña Colada. If you want the creamy version, reduce the lemon juice to 1 cl, because coconut cream and a lot of acidity clash. If you order it at a bar, specify which of the two you mean.
Which rum and which blue curaçao
Use a neutral white rum of around 40 percent ABV; a heavy Jamaican bottle clashes with the pineapple juice and turns the color green. With blue curaçao, pay particular attention to the alcohol content. Classic Bols Blue is around 21 percent ABV and fairly sweet, while drier varieties from Giffard or Senior Curaçao let more orange peel come through; the latter is the original, made with laraha peel. Stick to 2 cl: more makes the cocktail dark blue and sticky, while less allows the turquoise to disappear behind the yellow of the pineapple juice.
As a mocktail for a children's party
It works surprisingly well without alcohol, and the color is half the fun for children. Replace the rum and curaçao with 4 cl orange-based blue syrup, or with 2 cl non-alcoholic blue curaçao syrup topped up with 2 cl water. Use 8 cl pineapple juice and 2 cl lemon juice, shake with ice, and pour over fresh ice. The little umbrella and pineapple wedge are not optional here. Do pay attention to the dosage, because non-alcoholic blue syrups are often much sweeter than the liqueur they replace.
In a pitcher for a group
For eight glasses, mix 32 cl white rum, 16 cl blue curaçao, 64 cl pineapple juice, and 16 cl lemon juice in a pitcher. Chill it for at least an hour and do not add ice, because meltwater dilutes the color just as much as the flavor. Stir once more before serving, as the pineapple juice settles. Then fill the glasses with fresh ice and pour the mixture over it. Cut the pineapple into wedges beforehand and have the cherries and little umbrellas ready in bowls, so serving goes quickly.
Blue Hawaiian recipe with coconut cream
The Blue Hawaiian cocktail is its creamy twin: keep 4 cl white rum, 2 cl blue curaçao and 8 cl pineapple juice, add 3 cl coconut cream and reduce the lemon juice to 1 cl. Shake longer and more vigorously than the Blue Hawaii cocktail, because the coconut cream really needs to emulsify before the glass turns an even pastel blue. First loosen the coconut cream in the can, as the fat remains stiff at the top. Then pour over fresh ice, so the meltwater from the shaker does not dilute the creaminess.
Blue Hawaii cocktail with homemade sour
The recipe lets you choose between fresh lemon juice and sweet and sour, and you can make the latter yourself in two minutes: mix equal parts fresh lemon juice and sugar syrup and store covered in the refrigerator. Sweet and sour makes this Hawaiian drink slightly rounder and sweeter, while pure lemon juice makes it sharper. Keep it at 2 cl in either case, because more acidity makes the pineapple juice taste flat rather than fresher. Taste before garnishing, as pineapple juices vary considerably in sweetness.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a Blue Hawaii?
A Blue Hawaii consists of 4 cl white rum, 2 cl blue curaçao, 8 cl pineapple juice and 2 cl fresh lemon juice or sweet and sour, shaken with plenty of ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, a cherry and a little parasol. The blue curaçao provides the turquoise color.
What is the difference between a Blue Hawaii and a Blue Hawaiian?
Coconut cream. The Blue Hawaiian gets a splash of coconut cream, making it creamy and opaque, while the Blue Hawaii stays bright turquoise and refreshing. The other ingredients are the same. Try both and choose which beach you mean: bright and refreshing, or smooth and tropical.
Who invented the Blue Hawaii?
Harry Yee, head bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, mixed it in 1957 at the request of Bols, who wanted to create something with its blue curaçao. He named the cocktail after the film of the same name; when Elvis sang Blue Hawaii four years later, the drink became immortal.
Which glass do you use for a Blue Hawaii?
A 44 to 47 cl hurricane glass lets the turquoise shine from top to bottom. The tall, curved shape makes the color even deeper; a tall tiki glass or pineapple glass works too, as long as it is large and tropical. See our hurricane glasses.
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