7 Blue Drinks to Help You Cool Off This Summer

“Blue cocktails are having a moment,” screamed the headline over at TODAY’s website in early June of this year.

“Blue is the new black,” said Eater.com’s Kara Newman in a lengthy article about the past, present and future of blue cocktails — back in April of 2015.

And with Independence Day now just weeks away, you can be sure bartenders across the country are preparing their red, white and blue drinks. Hell, you can sample Guy Fieri’s not-especially-creative sounding “Fourth of July Cocktail” over at Food Network right now.

Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash

But did blue ever really come to the party and stay for a while?

In the TODAY story, the news peg boiled down to the fact that “The Bachelor” star Hannah Godwin described her drink of choice — a blue raspberry slushie — as a reminder of her childhood AND perfect for her feed. And Eater’s story was largely inspired by the launch of a great new cocktail, Gun Metal Blue, at the Danny Meyer New York bar/eatery Porchlight seven years ago (“the most-Instagrammed colored cocktail of the moment”). It’s still on the menu, but faded into memory until now. See the Insta video below.

 

The fact is that there have been blue novelty drinks for more than a century. People can claim that blueberries are super healthy; they’re said to help maintain healthy bones, lower blood pressure, manage diabetes, ward off heart disease, prevent cancer, boost mental health, aid digestion, facilitate weight loss and even help fight off wrinkles.

But the truth? It’s a notoriously rare color in the world of fruits and vegetables, and that’s probably why we love blue cocktails. We don’t see them that often. It’s a quasi-ironic way to embrace an artificial anomaly. Or as Godwin put it: “really fun and nostalgic.” Below, we’ve gathered seven blue cocktails — including a mojito, a margarita, and a minty spritzer — that taste as good as they look.

 

Marvelous Blueberry Mojito

1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
3/4 cup lemonade
Splash of soda
1 ounce light rum
1 ounce dark rum
Mint sprig for garnish
Lime slice for garnish

In a glass, add mint leaves, lime juice and sugar. Mash the ingredients with the back of a spoon or a muddler until fragrant. Add 2 tablespoons of the blueberries and mash until juicy. Fill the glass three-quarters with ice. Add lemonade until the glass is two-thirds full. Add splash of soda, light rum and remaining blueberries, stir. Slowly pour dark rum into the drink so it floats on top. Garnish with a sprig of mint and slice of lime.

Blueberry Basil Power Smoothie

2 frozen bananas
2 cups frozen blueberries
a small handful of fresh basil leaves (about 10 leaves)
2 tablespoons nut or seed butter
1 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2 + cups unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

Place all ingredients into a high-speed blender and process until smooth. Add more liquid as necessary.

Blueberry-Watermelon Frosty

1 container (6 ounces) frozen lemonade or limeade concentrate, unthawed
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups watermelon cubes, seeds removed
1 cup ice cubes

In a blender container, combine lemonade concentrate, blueberries and watermelon. Purée until very smooth. Add ice cubes. Blend until mixture is slushy. Add sugar, if needed.

Blueberry Margarita

2 ounces blueberry puree
2 ounces tequila
1.5 ounces orange liqueur
1.5 ounces fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Coarse salt for glass rim
Fresh blueberries for garnish

In cocktail shaker, combine blueberry puree, tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, sugar and ice. Shake thoroughly. Run a cut lime along the serving glass rim. Place glass rim in salt. Pour shaker contents into glass. Garnish with fresh blueberries. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Daiquiri

1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 ounce light rum
1 cup crushed ice

In an electric blender place lime juice, blueberries and rum. Blend until smooth. Add ice and blend until slushy. Garnish with blueberries skewered on picks circled with a strip of lime peel, if desired.

Blueberry And Mint Spritzer

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup simple syrup
1/2 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup mint leaves, torn
4 cups club soda
8 ounces vodka (optional)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Make the blueberry base: Combine the first four ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the mint leaves. Stir with wooden spoon to release the mint aromas. Chill completely and strain out solids into a container by pushing on the blueberries to extract as much juice as possible. For each drink: Combine 3 oz of the chilled blueberry base in a shaker with 1/2 cup ice cubes, 1ounce of vodka if using, and shake to muddle and strain into a chilled glass. Add 4 oz. club soda. Garnish with a few blueberries and a mint leaf.

Blueberry Bourbon Fizz

1- 1⁄2 ounces bourbon
1 teaspoon simple syrup
Ginger beer or seltzer

In a cocktail shaker, combine bourbon, simple syrup and ice. Shake well. Strain into a glass and add a splash of ginger beer. Garnish with blueberries and a thin slice of prosciutto on a cocktail pick, if desired.