Totally Tropical Blue Hawaiian Cocktail
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This Blue Hawaiian cocktail is full of tropical flavours and perfect for serving at a Hawaiian luau party! It’s made with two kinds of rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut. Think of it like a Piña Colada, but blue, with a hint of citrus!
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Blue Hawaiian Cocktail
I am obsessed with all things Polynesian, and for my 40th birthday, I threw a Hawaiian Luau to celebrate with my family and friends. My dad and husband actually built a tiki bar for the party too!
I’ve never actually been to Hawaii, but it is on my bucket list to visit, and I hope I get there one day…
The closest I’ve gotten to any of the Polynesian islands is our stays at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World – it’s like a little slice of Polynesia in Orlando!
What is a Blue Hawaiian?
Blue Hawaiian is just one of several delicious Hawaiian-themed cocktails that you can make for a Hawaiian tropical party.
It is made with rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and blue curaçao – which gives the tropical cocktail its color.
Sometimes the mix of the yellow pineapple juice and the blue curaçao can turn the drink green, so don’t panic if this happens!
It should not be confused with a similarly named cocktail – Blue Hawaii, which is a cocktail with rum, pineapple juice, blue curaçao, sweet and sour mix, and sometimes vodka.
Easy Hawaiian Cocktails
A tropical Hawaiian party is probably one of my favourite themes because, by its very nature, it is bright, colorful, and festive!
Think of vibrant tropical flora and fauna like hibiscus, orchids, monstera leaves, palm trees, parrots, and flamingos to name a few.
Then you’ve got tiki torches, tiki statues, and leis. Not to mention delicious food (check out 50 Recipes for a Tropical Hawaiian Party) and of course, tropical party cocktails like Blue Hawaiian!
Other Hawaiian cocktail recipes include Mai Tai, Bahama Mama, Piña Colada, Tropical Itch, Coconut Mojito, Lava Lava, Hawaiian Margarita, Haupia Cocktail, Hawaiian Cosmopolitan, Hawaiian Fizz, Lava Flow, Riki Tiki, Ho’opono Potion, South Shore Sangria, and Lapu Lapu.
Any of these would be great to serve at a Hawaiian cocktail party – don’t forget the paper umbrellas and swizzle sticks!
Check out our Party Supplies Shop on Amazon UK and on Amazon.com for great products and supplies for a Tropical Hawaiian Party Luau!
The Blue Hawaiian is just one of the totally tropical party cocktails on The Purple Pumpkin Blog – along with 500+ Recipes including lots of great party food ideas.
How to Make a Blue Hawaiian Cocktail
This iconic cocktail is made with two types of rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut.
White Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic drink made from sugarcane juice or sugarcane byproducts, which are fermented, distilled, and then usually aged in oak barrels.
Most of the world’s rum production occurs in the Caribbean and Latin America. Rums are produced in various grades.
Light, white, or silver rums are commonly used in Summer Rum Cocktails, whereas “golden” and “dark” rums are often drunk neat or with mixers.
White rums brands include Bacardi, Captain Morgan, and Malibu (which is a coconut rum)
Pineapple Rum
Pineapple rum is essentially rum that has been infused with pineapple. From my research, it has its roots in the 19th Century and is made from the rinds of pineapples, as well as the flesh of the fruit, so it imparts a lot of pineapple flavour.
Pineapple Rum brands include Captain Morgan, Plantation, and Malibu actually has pineapple and coconut rum, so you could experiment with different quantities if you wanted to!
Blue Curaçao
Must not forget the blue curaçao! This liqueur is made with the dried peels of the Laraha citrus fruit, grown only on the island of Curaçao.
It is naturally colorless but is often given artificial coloring, most commonly blue or orange, which lends itself well as an ingredient in tropical Hawaiian cocktails like the Blue Hawaiian!
(If you’re wondering how to pronounce curaçao, it’s cure-a-sow)
Pineapple Juice
Of all the fruit juices, pineapple juice is my favourite. The tropical taste is a wonderful addition to luau cocktails and mocktails – I’ll be telling you how to make a Virgin Blue Hawaiian Mocktail too.
Pineapple juice is full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (so you know that this cocktail is healthy!!).
Cream of Coconut
Okay, so there is a difference between coconut milk, coconut cream, and cream (or creme) of coconut. Wiki has an article all about it if you want to be up to speed on all things from a coconut, but in short, coconut cream is thicker than milk as it has a higher fat content (think about cow milk versus cream, and the difference that has).
Then, cream of coconut, which is used in this recipe, is a “thick, heavily sweetened, processed coconut milk product resembling condensed milk.” Wiki goes on to say “it should not be confused with or used as a substitute for coconut cream”.
However, I have seen other Blue Hawaiian recipes say to use coconut cream… so who really knows? Whatever you do, don’t use coconut milk!
I have used both cream of coconut and coconut cream in cocktails before – it will just depend on what you can find in the supermarket.
Coco Lopéz Cream of Coconut is the original producer of this ingredient and is “made from the tender meat of fresh sun-ripened Caribbean coconuts and blended with the exact amount of natural cane sugar to result in a pure, smooth cream”.
Mixing Blue Hawaiian Cocktails
There are several ways you can mix Hawaiian party cocktails – you can shake them, stir them, or blend them…. for Blue Hawaiian, we’re going to get our Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail groove on, and shake this drink up in a cocktail shaker.
All the ingredients and lots of ice go into the shaker, and then you just shake, shake, shake until blended!
Don’t worry if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you could just use a container with a tight-fitting lid – like a mason jar, water bottle, or even the cup on a blender or smoothie maker.
Pour your Blue Hawaiian into a glass (traditionally a hurricane glass) and garnish with your choice of orange slices, pineapple wedges, and maraschino cherries.
Blue Hawaiian Variations
Before you jump down to print the recipe for Blue Hawaiian, you might want to check out the variations that might be suitable for your tropical party.
Virgin Blue Hawaiian (Mocktail)
So that non-drinkers and kids can enjoy a taste of Hawaii at your luau, you can make a Virgin Blue Hawaiian very easily.
To make a Blue Hawaiian mocktail, mix 4 parts pineapple and coconut juice with 1 part blue curaçao syrup – which does not contain alcohol.
Shake with ice and serve over ice with fruit garnish like the regular cocktail.
I love the Monin brand of syrups as there are lots of flavours and they are a very versatile ingredient that can be used in cocktails, mocktails, coffee, cocoa, shakes, smoothies, and more.
If you don’t want to buy/use blue curaçao syrup then you could try using blue Gatorade or a similar kind of blue drink instead – this might be a more popular option for kids! I’ve seen this used in blue mocktails online, but not actually tried it myself.
Lighter Blue Hawaiian
If you want a lighter version of this cocktail, use less cream of coconut, or you could leave it out altogether if you wanted to. To get the coconut hit, you could use coconut rum, like Malibu as well as regular rum. In which case, I would do 2 parts coconut rum, 2 parts white rum, and 1 part pineapple rum mixed with the blue curaçao and pineapple juice.
Or, if you can get the coconut and pineapple Malibu, then do 2 parts white rum to 3 parts coconut and pineapple Malibu, mixed as before with blue curaçao and pineapple juice.
Frozen Blue Hawaiian
Want to turn this tropical drink into a frozen slushie? Easy! Put all the ingredients in a blender with a generous amount of crushed ice – then blend till smooth. Serve with a straw, and watch out for brain freeze! You can do this with the mocktail version too.
Blue Hawaiian Party Punch
If you want to make Blue Hawaiian for a crowd, you can make a large batch of the cocktail with no problem!
As long as you use the same measuring container (glass, cup, jug, etc) for the “1 part”, the ratios will be correct and you can make as much as you need to. Serve in drinks dispensers, or pitchers, or go really retro and serve it from a punch bowl!
Make sure you add plenty of ice to your serving receptacle of choice and add orange slices, small chunks of pineapple, and cherries for an extra fruity treat.
To make a batch of tropical Blue Hawaiian party punch, mix together:
- 1 part pineapple rum
- 2 parts cream of coconut
- 4 parts blue curacao
- 4 parts white rum
- 4 parts pineapple juice
Looking for a dinner recipe to enjoy with this cocktail? Check out: Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pulled Pork
This cocktail recipe is intended for adults of the legal drinking age in your country of residence.
Please drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.
How Do I Make Blue Hawaiian Cocktail?
The full ingredients and instructions are on the printable recipe card below. To save ink, any demonstration photos on the card do not print.
Blue Hawaiian
This Blue Hawaiian cocktail is full of tropical flavours and perfect for serving at a Hawaiian luau party!
Ingredients
- 1oz/30ml pineapple rum
- 2oz/60ml cream of coconut
- 4oz/120ml blue curaçao
- 4oz/120ml white rum
- 4oz/120ml chilled pineapple juice
- ice
Instructions
- Place the pineapple rum, cream of coconut, blue curaçao, white rum, pineapple juice and ice into a cocktail shaker.
- Shake well to combine.
- Pour into 2 glasses over ice cubes.
- Garnish each with a orange slice, pineapple wedge, or a cherry.
Notes
To make a large batch of this cocktail for parties, mix together:
- 1 part pineapple rum
- 2 parts cream of coconut
- 4 parts blue curacao
- 4 parts white rum
- 4 parts pineapple juice
As long as you use the same measuring container (glass, cup etc) for the "1 part", the ratios will be correct and you can make as much as you need to.Serve in a drinks dispenser, pitcher, or punch bowl filled with ice, and add orange slices, small chunks of pineapple, and cherries as a fruity extra.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 129mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 33gProtein: 2g
This site uses an outside source to provide nutrition. If you need exact details, please calculate yourself. This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 6/5/2019