Blue Hawaii Cocktail – The Iconic Island Drink

The Blue Hawaii is the most photogenic cocktail in the tiki canon — an electric blue drink that looks like someone poured the Pacific Ocean into a glass and added a paper umbrella. It’s sweet, it’s tropical, it’s the color of a postcard sky over Waikiki, and it’s been the drink that tourists order on their first night in Hawaii since 1957. But here’s the thing the cocktail snobs won’t tell you: when it’s made right, the Blue Hawaii is actually a really good drink.

The Blue Hawaii was created by bartender Harry Yee at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki in 1957. The story goes that a sales representative from Bols — the Dutch liqueur company — asked Yee to create a cocktail featuring their new blue curaçao. Yee, who was already one of Hawaii’s most creative bartenders (he’s also credited with being the first to use orchids and paper umbrellas as cocktail garnishes), came up with a rum-based tropical drink that used the blue curaçao to create that signature ocean-blue color. It was an instant hit and has been associated with Hawaii ever since.

Blue Hawaii vs. Blue Hawaiian

Here’s a distinction that confuses even bartenders: the Blue Hawaii and the Blue Hawaiian are different drinks.

• Blue Hawaii (Harry Yee’s original): Rum, blue curaçao, sweet and sour mix, pineapple juice. Served over ice in a tall glass. Lighter and more balanced.
• Blue Hawaiian: Rum, blue curaçao, cream of coconut, pineapple juice. Basically a blue piña colada. Creamier and sweeter.

Both are good. Both are blue. But the original Blue Hawaii — Yee’s version — is the more refreshing of the two and the one I’m sharing here. If you want the creamy version, just swap the sweet and sour for cream of coconut.

Making It Right

The Blue Hawaii’s reputation suffers from the same problem as all tiki drinks — too many bars make it with cheap premix, artificial sour mix, and bargain-bin rum, resulting in something that tastes like blue-flavored sugar water. When you use fresh ingredients and decent spirits, the drink transforms. Fresh pineapple juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice (instead of bottled sour mix), and a quality white rum make all the difference between a tourist trap cocktail and a genuinely delicious tropical drink.

Ingredients

Per Cocktail

• 1 oz white rum (Flor de Caña or Bacardi Superior work well)
• 1 oz vodka
• 1 oz blue curaçao
• 3 oz pineapple juice (fresh is best)
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice (or sweet and sour mix)
• Crushed ice

Garnish

• Pineapple wedge
• Maraschino cherry
• Paper umbrella (mandatory — it’s not a Blue Hawaii without one)
• Orchid flower (optional, for the full Harry Yee experience)

Instructions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add white rum, vodka, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and lemon juice.
3. Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds until the shaker is frosty cold.
4. Fill a hurricane glass or tall glass with crushed ice.
5. Strain the cocktail over the ice.
6. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, cherry, and paper umbrella.
7. Serve immediately with a straw.

Frozen Blue Hawaii

For the blended version — which is arguably even better on a hot day:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender with 1 1/2 cups of ice.
2. Blend until smooth and slushy.
3. Pour into a hurricane glass.
4. Garnish as above.

Batch Recipe for Parties

Making Blue Hawaiis one at a time at a party is a recipe for spending your entire evening behind the bar. Here’s a batch version that serves 8-10:

• 1 cup white rum
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 cup blue curaçao
• 3 cups pineapple juice
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine everything in a large pitcher, stir well, and refrigerate until serving. Pour over crushed ice in individual glasses and garnish. If you’re feeling ambitious, blend individual servings to order from the pitcher base.

Tips

• Fresh pineapple juice matters. Canned is fine, but fresh pineapple juice has a brightness and complexity that elevates the drink. If you have a juicer, juice a fresh pineapple. You’ll taste the difference immediately.
• Fresh lemon juice, not sour mix. Bottled sweet and sour mix is full of artificial flavors and high-fructose corn syrup. Fresh lemon juice with a touch of simple syrup tastes a hundred times better and is barely any more work.
• Don’t skip the garnish. The paper umbrella is not optional. It’s part of the experience. Harry Yee didn’t pioneer cocktail garnishes just for you to serve a naked glass.
• The blue curaçao brand matters less than you think. Bols is the traditional choice, but DeKuyper and other brands work fine. They all provide the same essential function: orange liqueur flavor and that electric blue color.
• Pair with food: The Blue Hawaii’s sweetness and acidity make it a surprisingly good pairing with spicy and salty foods. Try it alongside garlic shrimp, Spam musubi, or any pupu spread.

The Drink of Paradise

Yes, the Blue Hawaii is a tourist drink. Yes, it’s blue. Yes, it comes with a paper umbrella. And yes, it’s delicious. Harry Yee knew what he was doing in 1957, and sixty-plus years later, his creation remains the definitive drink of Hawaii — the one that says “you’re on vacation, the ocean is right there, and nothing matters except this moment.” Make one at home, close your eyes, and pretend you’re on the lanai at the Hilton Hawaiian Village watching the sunset. That’s the whole point.

The Blue Hawaii is one of the great icons of tiki culture in Hawaii — a tradition we explore in depth in our Talk Story series. For a fruitier riff on the classic Mai Tai, try our Mango Mai Tai. And if you’re planning a Hawaiian backyard party, the batch version above is the way to go.

For another island cocktail, try our Li Hing Mui Margarita — Hawaii’s sweet-salty spin on the classic.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Makes: 1 cocktail