If you're looking for a cocktail with true summer vibes, then you've come to the right place. This mermaid cocktail is refreshing, fruity, and perfect for a warm evening. Its ocean-inspired colors will make you feel like a mermaid (even if you're at home instead of at the beach). It's sure to be the photo-worthy centerpiece at a summer party.
Although most blue cocktails are artificially colored, this mermaid cocktail is different. It gets its vibrant hue from blue spirulina, an edible (and healthful!) species of algae. You can say goodbye to food coloring and sugary liqueurs, since this naturally colored blue cocktail is made from just a few simple ingredients.
While blue curacao is often used to make drinks blue, it's essentially just a low-proof orange liqueur with a lot of food coloring and sugar. Accordingly, it's not a great choice nutritionally, especially since artificial food colorings have been shown to have adverse health effects. If you don't want to be sipping a glass of food coloring and sugar, then I can't wait for you to try my favorite trick.
The secret to making blue drinks naturally (without food coloring!) is a very unique ingredient: blue spirulina, which is an edible algae. Although it's a specialty ingredient and can be tricky to find, it has a vibrant blue color and numerous nutritional benefits. Using blue spirulina instead of blue curacao keeps this mermaid cocktail lower in sugar and allows you to avoid the health impacts of artificial colors.
Make sure to check out my guide to blue spirulina cocktails for more information about this unique ingredient, including where to find it and how to use it.
Love this mermaid cocktail? Then I think you'll also have fun with a few other naturally colored blue cocktail recipes here on the blog. This unicorn cocktail is fun and whimsical, and this solar eclipse cocktail is perfect for a summer evening. Don't forget to make a festive red, white, and blue July 4th cocktail for Independence Day. There's even a blue mojito in my compilation of horoscope cocktails (scroll down to Pisces). Once you get the hang of mixing up a blue spirulina cocktail, I can guarantee you'll want to try others.
This naturally colored blue cocktail has just a few ingredients. The bottom layer is honeydew juice, which has a beautiful vibrant green color. The top layer is a mixture of white rum (feel free to substitute blanco tequila or unaged gin, since both go equally as well with these flavors) and lime juice. You can also garnish the cocktail with some honeydew slices, melon balls, or cute honeydew shapes cut with miniature cookie cutters.
Even though this eye-catching blue spirulina cocktail looks fancy, it comes together in just a few easy steps. First, you'll dissolve the blue spirulina in a dash of water (since it doesn't dissolve well in alcohol). Next, you'll fill a tall cocktail glass with ice and add honeydew juice to the bottom of the glass. Finally, you'll shake together the dissolved blue spirulina with rum and lime juice, and gently pour the blue layer on top of the green layer.
Curious about the layers? The honeydew juice has some natural sugars and hence is denser. Alcohol has a low density, so the blue layer will "float" on top of the green layer. If you want to learn more about layered cocktails, get some tips, and browse other layered drinks, check out this red, white, and blue July 4th cocktail post, which contains additional information.
There are a few ways you can change up this blue spirulina cocktail to suit your own tastes. If you like a sweeter drink, feel free to add a little splash of simple syrup, agave, other liquid sweetener, or even triple-sec (however, it will work better to add it to the honeydew layer rather than the blue rum layer so that the density differences are maintained and the cocktail keeps its layered appearance).
Want to adjust the alcohol content? To make a low-alcohol version, just decrease the amount of rum. To make this naturally colored blue cocktail more hydrating, try serving it over small ice cubes or even crushed ice, and/or adding a splash of sparkling water to the honeydew layer. This recipe won't work well as a non-alcoholic drink because the density differences won't be enough to maintain the layers, but you could easily make a non-layered honeydew, lime, and blue spirulina mocktail.
Here's what you'll need for this naturally colored blue cocktail recipe, as well as some thoughts, tips, and possible substitutions. If you make any substitutions, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.
Well, have I convinced you? Are you ready to ditch the sugary blue curacao and try your hand mixing drinks with an edible, healthful superfood ingredient? You'll be amazed at the colors in this blue spirulina cocktail, especially because those colors are directly from nature. There are many ways to use blue spirulina, and I can guarantee you'll want to experiment with blue matcha lattes, blue smoothies, and other blue spirulina cocktails.
I can't wait for you to try this unique, fruity, and summery mermaid cocktail. It's lighthearted and fun, plus it will have everyone snapping pictures, so it's the perfect party plan for a warm evening.
It makes me so happy to hear from you and see your creations! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this recipe. If you post a photo on Instagram, hashtag #TheRogueBrusselSprout and tag me (@TheRogueBrusselSprout) in the post text so that I'm sure to see it.
This blue-hued mermaid cocktail is refreshing, whimsical, and perfect for sipping on a warm summer evening. You'll never believe it's naturally-colored with blue spirulina!
Did you make this recipe? Did you make substitutions? How did you serve it? Any helpful tips? Please share your thoughts, since these insights are really useful to both me and to other readers.
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