Bright blue in color and with a tangy, slightly sweet taste with a hint of citrus, this cocktail is served in a Martini-style glass for summer evenings or at tropical-themed parties.
The Blue Lagoon is a Short Drink (Small quantity, High in alcohol, Served without ice) and a Sour (Alcohol + sour element + sweet element, here Curacao).
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Classic recipePour 4 cl of vodka, 3 cl of Blue Curaçao, and 2 cl of lemon juice into a shaker with ice. Serve in a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a lemon zest, a slice, or a cherry. VariantSome people replace the lemon juice with lemonade or lemon-lime soda (like Sprite) for a sweeter, more sparkling "Long Drink" version. |
The history of the Blue Lagoon cocktail is relatively recent compared to the great classics of mixology. The Blue Lagoon is said to have appeared in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when modern mixology was beginning to experiment with colored liqueurs and more visual cocktails. It is generally attributed to Andy MacElhone, the son of Harry MacElhone, the famous bartender and owner of the legendary Harry's New York Bar in Paris (Paris, Daunou street, between Av de l'opéra and Rue de la Paix).
The Blue Lagoon was reportedly invented to capitalize on the growing popularity of blue curaçao, a colorful liqueur that gave the cocktail a dramatic appearance, perfect for attracting customers attracted to original and aesthetically pleasing drinks. It's a tribute to and variation of the White Lady, a drink made with gin, triple sec, and lime juice, created by Andy's father, Harry MacElhone, a Scottish bartender who helped open Harry's New York Bar in 1911.
The island of Curaçao, in the Caribbean, is a former Dutch colony where a variety of bitter orange, Laraha, is found. In 1896, the house of Senior & Co, founded in Willemstad on the island of Curaçao, began production of the first curaçao liqueur based on laraha (this distillery is still active today). Originally this liqueur was transparent, but the idea of giving it a blue color to evoke the turquoise waters of the Caribbean led to the addition of food coloring in the 1920s (note that there are red or green Curaçao, with the same taste, it's just the coloring that changes). Unlike Triple Sec (Cointreau), which is also made from orange peel, Curaçao is generally less strong (25° vs. 40°) and sweeter than Triple Sec because it is made with Brandy and not neutral alcohol (The third famous orange peel liqueur is Grand Marnier, which is between the two, strong in alcohol like Cointreau but made from Brandy (Cognac) like Curaçao, so it has a more complex taste, which can be a plus or a minus depending on your needs).
