Try this blue margarita recipe for your next cocktail hour, and wow your friends with an electric blue drink!
This week I’m bringing you a fun twist on classic margaritas (my favorite cocktail), but first let me tell you why I found myself with this lovely blue liqueur in the first place. I recently aspired to make this drink:
Paradise Cocktail (source: drinkedin.net)
Gorgeous, no? Please note that the recipe is really just a list of ingredients without instructions, but I was sure it was just a matter of slow pouring to get the beautiful layered effect. Of course I wanted to make it my own, so I substituted pomegranate liqueur (I found a tiny trial-sized bottle for this purpose) for the grenadine and orange juice for the pineapple juice because that’s what I had on hand. This was A LOT of flavors in one drink, which is not typically my style, but I was sure it would taste OK if not better.
Folks, my version was all kinds of wrong. The layering didn’t work at all (apparently you have to actually plan the layers based on the density of each ingredient), so it was sort of a bluish-brown mess. I gave it a taste to make sure it was worth trying again, and it tasted TERRIBLE! I choked down the one sip and promptly poured the rest down the drain. Granted, I’m not a big fan of super fruity drinks, but that one was really a disaster.
So, there I was, left with a bottle of bright blue liqueur, which as it turns out is actually orange flavored. The bottle proudly claims “All Natural Flavors,” but there is nothing natural about that color. I looked up blue curacao on Wikipedia, and it didn’t really explain why it’s blue, just that it is. I wasn’t sure what to do with booze that looks like a cleaning product, but I wanted to come up with something.
Since my adventurous drink was a flop, I decided to take my ambition down a notch and make a blue variation of my best margarita recipe. It actually tasted quite good, was less potent than my usual recipe (blue curacao is only 15% alcohol), and the color was a fun change.  This easy blue margarita will be perfect for your next cocktail hour. Wow your friends with an electric blue drink!
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 3 ounces fresh lime juice
- 5 ounces silver tequila
- 2 1/2 ounces blue curacao liqueur
- 2 ounces agave nectar or to taste
- coarse salt for glass rim optional
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Stir together all ingredients except salt.
- Fill two margarita or rocks glasses 3/4 full with ice, and pour mixed margarita over the ice.(See note for instructions on salting glasses.) Cheers!
To salt glass rims, rub lime wedge around the outer top edge of each glass. Place about a teaspoon of salt in the palm of your hand, and roll the outer edge in the salt to coat.
You’ll also love these colorful cocktails!
Green Fizz Midori Cocktail with Kiwi and Apple
Susan says
Blue margarita sounds amazing…where did you get that glass????? Love it!!!!
takenya says
There is a flower from Thailand (I don’t remember the name) and you can use the extract from the petals to make a drink blue. I don’t remember if it is that precise color/shade blue but I would research these things before you call people out. Legally, they can’t say that they used all natural products if there is a product that isn’t natural.
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Takenya. I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I was just attempting to be funny, not slander the makers of blue curacao. I read up on it after your comment and learned about the butterfly pea plant that does naturally color drinks blue. Apparently it’s not shelf stable though, so the blue curacao we see in stores is in fact artificially colored. (I think they only say it’s naturally flavored.) Thanks for your note!
Sharon @ Life After Empty Nest says
I am LOVING the look of this cocktail! No matter if it didn’t turn out like you originally started…I’m gonna enjoy trying it! “pinned”
xoxo
The Weary Chef says
Thank you so much, Sharon! This surely tasted better than the original concoction I was trying to make. Since I made maraschino cherries this week instead of coming up with a new cocktail recipe, I think this one will be making a repeat performance tonight!
[email protected] says
Hi Andi – how did I miss this one??? Love it – pinning to my Tasty Beverage board! Looks refreshing!
The Weary Chef says
That blue color makes for a fun drink, doesn’t it? Thanks so much, Deb!
[email protected] Cooking with Curls says
You website changed again! I like it, and I love the color of that drink. If you want to layer a drink, you need to pour each liquor slowly over the back of a spoon so it doesn’t disturb the layer below. I don’t think you need to bother though, this margarita is gorgeous :) Thank you so much for sharing it with us at Best of the Weekend! Have a fabulous week :)
The Weary Chef says
Thanks for the tip about the back of the spoon! I probably will try it again with different ingredients at some point, and I’ll remember your advice. Thank you for all your kind words, Lisa :)
Julie @ This Gal Cooks says
This looks so delicious, Andi! After the crazy weekend I’ve had, I could sure use one of them! Pinned!
The Weary Chef says
Thanks, Julie! So glad you got everything straightened out with your site. Hope the rest of your weekend is relaxing!
Buttons says
Yum! There is just something about a blue drink that makes me thirsty. When my boyfriend (now husband) and I went out at midnight on my 21st birthday, we just asked the bartender for something delicious and blue! My first bar drink in America!
The Weary Chef says
I was already an old married lady by 21. We got married when I was barely 20! That is a cute story about the blue drink. I’m sure I was asleep at midnight on my birthday (pretty much every year). Don’t envy my exciting life ;)
Gloria // Simply Gloria says
So could have this beverage right this minute! So pretty, too! Wish I was there to do all the taste testing with you!
The Weary Chef says
Thanks, Gloria! I would love to have a cocktail (or two) with you!
Liz says
nice save, Andi. Appreciate you sharing your drink fail, too. That does sound awful. Will admit to never being even mildly tempted to true blue curacao. It does indeed look like cleaning fluid. Will try your drink this weekend with substitutions.
More changes around here! Looking good :-)
The Weary Chef says
Hi, Liz! I am glad you like my failures as well as successes ;) I knew that bunch of ingredients didn’t sound like they would taste good together, but I was convinced it would be drinkable. Oh well! I think I will keep trying for a pretty layered drink that actually tastes good.
Maybe you could make a raspberry version with Chambord? I’m sure you will come up with something great. Hope you had fun at the beach!