Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Rum Cocktails

Blue Hawaiian

blue hawaiian cocktail with pineapple and umbrella garnish, set against a yellow background

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Blue Hawaiian is a perfect summer drink, and one that tastes great beside a body of water. Any body of water, really. That makes sense, considering that in some circles this cocktail is known as the Swimming Pool.

The Blue Hawaiian is not to be confused with the Harry Yee classic, the Blue Hawaii, which was created in Honolulu in 1957 and features vodka, light rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice and freshly made sweet-and-sour. Instead, the Blue Hawaiian, likely an adaptation of Yee’s cocktail, is little more than a doctored Piña Colada. It calls for light rum, pineapple juice, lemon juice, cream of coconut and blue curaçao. The addition of this orange-flavored liqueur makes the drink tall and teal, as aggressively tropical as it is pleasing to the eye.

The Blue Hawaiian is shaken with ice, but you can also make it frozen. If you want to go down this chilly road, add all the ingredients to a blender with ice and whir the contents into a smooth, slushy and creamy treat. This version is especially refreshing on a hot day, when ice-cold drinks are the only viable protection from the scorching sun.

If you’d like to lighten the drink, you can use coconut milk in place of the cream of coconut. The milk still provides the necessary coconut flavor, but since it’s not as thick or rich as the cream, it cuts some of the cocktail’s creamy sweetness. It’s not a bad strategy if one Blue Hawaiian happens to turn into three.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces light rum

  • 3/4 ounce blue curaçao

  • 2 ounces pineapple juice

  • 3/4 ounce cream of coconut

  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

  • Garnish: pineapple wedge

  • Garnish: cherry

  • Garnish: cocktail umbrella

Steps

  1. Add the light rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, cream of coconut and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

  2. Strain into a hurricane glass over pebble ice.

  3. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, cherry and cocktail umbrella.