Looking for a fun twist on a classic cocktail? Pull out a bottle of blue curacao and whip up this Blue Margarita!
Robbie: “Dad, why is grape candy purple?”
Me: “Uhhh…what do you mean?”
Robbie: “Well, grapes are either green or red, not purple.”
Me: “It’s one of the mysteries of life, son.”
Yes, I recognize that’s a bit of a cop-out to blame it on the ‘mysteries of life,’ but I have no idea why grape-flavored things are always purple. I mean red grapes look kinda purple, right? Black grapes look kinda purple, too. *shrug*
The same thing exists for Blue Raspberry. Who came up with the idea that raspberries should be associated with the color blue!? I mean purple + grapes is somewhat plausible, but blue + raspberries? Not plausible at all. (Although, in a weird twist of science, sometimes raspberries will turn blue-ish in color when you bake with ’em. It has to do with the chemical reaction if you use a baking powder containing aluminum compounds.) Either way, the point remains that raspberries aren’t blue. So what’s up with blue raspberry?
![Looking for a fun twist on a classic cocktail? Pull out a bottle of blue curacao and whip up this Blue Margarita!]()
Blue Margarita
Blue MargaritaI suspect the real reason is the red candy field was a bit crowded thanks to strawberry, watermelon and cherry. Perhaps marketers came up with blue raspberry as a way to differentiate raspberry from the other red candy. Whatever the reason, Blue Raspberry ICEEs, Blue Raspberry Twizzlers and Blue Raspberry Jolly Ranchers are commonplace in stores (at least here in the States). So let’s add another one to the list: the Blue Margarita!
A Blue Margarita (also called a Moonlight Margarita or sometimes an Electric Margarita) is a fun twist on the classic cocktail. Even though it features a bright blue color, this Blue Margarita does not taste like raspberries. Instead, it gets its color from blue curacao, a liqueur made from dried laraha peels. The laraha is a bitter orange fruit that is native to the island nation of Curacao. While the pulp of the laraha fruit is quite bitter, the peel features a pleasant citrus flavor.
The laraha fruit isn’t blue at all…so why is blue curacao so bright blue? As with the blue raspberry mystery, the answer seems to be that it was a marketing move by the creator of this liqueur. No matter the color, I can say that a Blue Margarita is a fun and festive cocktail for warm summer days! In keeping with the orange flavor (from both the Triple Sec as well as the blue curacao), an orange wheel is a great garnish here. If you’re so inclined, feel free to throw a lime wedge on there, too. It is a margarita after all! Cheers!
Did you make a Blue Margarita at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Blue Margarita
Ingredients
- {optional} coarse salt for rimming glass
- 4 oz. silver tequila
- 2 oz. blue curacao
- 2 oz. fresh lime juice
- 2 oz. triple sec
- lime wedge or orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- {Optional} Spread coarse salt on a plate. Dip rim of 2 margarita glasses in water and then into salt. Set glasses aside.
- Using a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add tequila, blue curacao, lime juice and triple sec. Shake well and pour into prepared glasses.
- Garnish with a lime wedge or an orange peel before serving.
Nutrition
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