Got a blue crush? These are the best blue cocktails on Australian bar menus right now, plus some you can make at home.

In the wise words of Elle Woods, whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed. Obviously blue is the new pink. For some, it’s always been about blue – just ask Eiffel 65 (da ba dee da ba di, etc). Either way, blue cocktails are in, and every other coloured cocktail has taken a back seat. At least, that’s what our bartender friends tell us. From Bar Liberty’s blue take on the Japanese Slipper to Commis’ blue Cookie Monster sensation, here are our fave blue cocktails kicking around Australia as well as a few easy classics to mix up at home.

Blue cocktails are having a moment

As we have seen from the resurgence of the dreaded low-waisted jeans (shudders), trends come and go. Cocktails are no different (remember Lychee Martinis?). And while the cyclical nature of trends can upset some, others embrace it and make it their own. As Sydney bartender John Davidson (ex Barbershop) says, “Just like a blue moon, blue cocktails come around for a split second and then disappear again.”

There are a few ways to make blue drinks. You can chuck some blue food dye in the mix and call it a day, or you could use something called blue curacao, which is essentially an orange liqueur dyed blue. It’s really whether you want that blue ingredient to add taste, or just look blue for the drama.

If you haven’t seen a bottle of blue curacao, or even blue food colouring, it’s pretty blue. Like electric blue. So, if you, like us, guessed that the first truly blue drinks were sipped in the ’70s (like these retro cocktails), when John Travolta had Saturday Night Fever and Studio 54 was THE place to be, you’d be wrong! The first written evidence of a blue drink (which means they were probably sipped prior) was in the 1930s – first in Patrick Gavin Duffy’s 1934 book Official Mixer’s Manual and then again in 1937 with a whopping 22 different blue cocktails in William J. “Billy” Tarling’s Cafe Royal Cocktail Book. They were all the rage then, and then again in the ’70s and ’80s. But what has brought them back to prominence today? And how long will that popularity last?

Blue curacao is the key to many retro blue cocktails

Cocktails today look very different than they did in the early days. Sure, we may borrow parts from the classics, but with our new fandangled equipment – rodavaps, centrifuges and dry ice, for example – a lot of cocktails come out looking more like science projects than drinks. Be that as it may, this means a lot of bartenders are more equipped with a greater variety of cocktail skills than previously. “Because bartenders are so skilled at the moment, they can play with the flavours more than we used to,” says Commis co-owner Dan Docherty. “So all of a sudden I’m seeing Midori, blue curacao and certainly more blue drinks, but with a new-age, more creative flair to them.” Commis has embraced the blue hue with their own cocktail: the Cookie Monster. “It’s actually a clarified milk punch,” says Dan. “It’s such a fun drink – it’s bright blue and clear, with a lovely chunk of ice in it and a cookie garnish on top.”

There are a few other Melbourne staples slinging blue hues around like Hope Street Radio’s Blue Margarita, and who could forget Bar Liberty’s iconic blue Japanese Slipper using Marionette Blue Curacao (a Nick Tesar creation).

But Melbourne’s not the only city with the blue crush; Sydney’s hospo scene is also cutting some ultramarine shapes. “I feel we are currently seeing a big revival of ’70s, ’80s and ’90s cocktail culture with drinks like the Japanese Slipper, Blue Lagoon and Grasshoppers all having a big comeback,” says Sean McGuire from Poor Toms distillery. “We will start to see more and more of these ideas and flavours being applied to more serious classic drinks, but with a bit more nuance.”

We’re already seeing it at Jacoby’s with their Voodoo Virgin cocktail, at Four Pillars Lab in their Wig in a Box, The Waratah has a True Blue cocktail and even Caterpillar Club has some blue drizzled through their Piña Colada. In short, blue drinks are here – and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

The Blue Hawaii cocktail is kitschy, retro and delicious

Make your own blue cocktails

If you want your cocktail game to be up to hospo-par, then we suggest investing in a good bottle of blue curacao or even just some blue food dye and having a read of the following cocktail recipes. Try the Blue Lagoon – a classic, sweet vodka drink – or Sasha Starr’s fruity Sapphire Summer Punch. Then there’s the wonderfully kitsch Fruit Tingle and, of course, the creamy, fruity rumness of a show-stopping Blue Hawaii (pictured).

Outside of those absolute bangers, blue curacao is a fairly easy ingredient to incorporate into your classic drinks – just stay away from your hard-liquor cocktails such as the Martini (read more about the cocktail families here). Mixed up in a Margarita in place of Cointreau could be the move (because they’re both orange flavoured), or shaken up in a Daiquiri, or maybe take a note out of Caterpillar Club’s book and drizzle some on your Piña Colada. The blue skies are the limit.