The Perfect Blue Hawaiian?

Aloha everyone, I know this has already been discussed but, I can't find the thread, so I will ask the question again. I am having a problem with my Blue Hawaiian's cream curdling. I am following The Grog Log's reciepe for using cream or 1/2 and 1/2, I have also seen recipe's that call for Creme de Coconut, which makes the perfect or better Blue Hawaiian? Is the curd supposed to be there? I want to drink it not chew it. Hmmm? :drink:

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2002-11-16 23:21 ]

Use cream of coconut heck I even put a little in my coffee but the coconut cream is not really Dairy so it should not Curdle

I found this recipe in "The Ultimate A to Z Bar Guide" for a Blue Hawaiian as follows:

1 oz. light rum
1 oz. blue curacao
1 oz. creme of coconut
2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsweetened pineapple juice
1 cup crushed ice
combine all ingedients with ice in a blender.
Cover and blend at medium speed 15 seconds.
Pour into chilled glass and garnish with pineapple slice and cherry...

Following the Grogs recipe you are going to get curdled cream... it's the acidic "sweet & sour" lemon juice mixing with the cream. It also calls for vodka which I thought was strange. And where is the coconut? I personally wouldn't go with the Grog on this one.

I'm more along the line of the recipe Tiki Rider posted, except no blender. I prefer it shaken (and I mean shaken till your arms hurt) and strained.

[ Edited by: tikimug on 2002-11-17 11:39 ]

I think it tastes better with the rum, and also thought the recipe with vodka was maybe a mistake or misprint.

Yea, Vodka? I din't get the Vodka idea either. Rum, Creme de Coconut! That sounds yummy! Thanks :D

Vodka is the standard ingredient in Blue Hawaiians. Strange I know, but I asked around at several bars and I was told it's Vodka. So, a rum-based Blue Hawaiian does'nt seem to be a standard one.

Jab, what's your take on this?

Look closely: the Grog Log recipe is for a Blue HAWAII - a vodka based drink - not a Blue HAWAIIAN, which is the classic rum drink. They are two totally different (and different tasting) drinks, the Blue Hawaiian being the only one with coconut cream in it. Also, Blue Hawaiian's are blended, thereby avoiding the unsightly curdled appearance and making them a bright milk-shaky blue, while Blue Hawaii's are shaken/stirred, making them a cloudy bluish-green. I prefer the Blue Hawaiian, but Al (of Alnshelly) makes a perfect Blue Hawaii! Try 'em both!

What a difference a few letters make!

Thanks for solving this mystery for me Doctor Z. That clears up a lot ....

~Hanford

Great! Not only am I a drunk, I'm illiterate too! :P

Yeah thanks Doctor Z, I saw that and I thought maybe it was two different drinks.

but...

:music: Hawaiian, Hawaii... Havaiian, Havaii let's call the whole thing off :music:

Harry Yee, longtime bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, invented the Blue Hawaii. Although he said that it must have vodka in it, his original recipe contains BOTH vodka and rum!

I would agree that the Blue Hawaiian is the Blue Hawaii with rum and no vodka and was a later variation on the Blue Hawaii. But, I don't really know why there's cream in the Grog Log recipe as most recipes for it don't include cream.

Harry also invented the Tropical Itch, Hawaiian Eye, and many other drinks, and he was the first to put paper parasols, orchids, and back scratchers (in the tropical itch) in tropical drinks!

Here's more info:

http://www.kevdo.com/maitai/harryyee.html

I just love this place! You learn so much! I ended up leaving out the cream and it was prettier and tasty too.

Thanks for the article Jab. I had a Scratch Me Lani at the Hala Kahiki in Chicago. I had never heard of one, but the bartender highly recommended it. Man, it was so good, I even took a picture of it. Thanks to you and this site, I now know who concocted the recipe.

Yeah, that is a great article jab. I love the part about why he switched the garnish to orchids in his drinks, 'cause it made the ashtrays easier to clean. That's priceless I love it!

Hey, this is just like the Discovery Channel !!
I say just go with the “blue drink” at the KonaLanes, Harbor Blvd. OC..
Talk about curdling!!!!!(see events: OC Bowl)

Another good blue drink, courtesy of the Playboy drink guide, is the Blue Devil:

1.5 ounces Gin
0.5 ounce lemon juice
0.5 ounce Blue Curacao
Shake w/cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass. Simple but tasty.

Guy: "Do you like cocktails?"
Girl: "Sure!"
Guy: "Well, when I hear one I'll tell it to you."

Went back into the archives a bit to look for a Blue Hawaii topic. Tiki Central did not disappoint.

However, I wanted to post my simple recipe for a Blue Hawaii that I used to make all the time 5-6 years ago, but not so much anymore because I've grown accustomed to more tart drinks. This may not be for the tiki drinking connoisseur, but it it TERRIFIC for the rum guzzlin' "I like it sweet" hoards you sometimes have to deal with at a big party. Mix this up by the gallons and its a hit.

1 part Malibu
1 part Bols Blue Curacao
3 parts Dole Pineapple juice

Throw a handful or two of ice in a blender and fill with this mixture. Blend until smooth. If too sweet for your friends, add a little lime juice. Serve in a clear glass so people can get all excited about the color.

awwww, my favorite drink.
It took me five years to develop my recipe for a Blue Hawaiian.
Tiki Ti has the finest Blue Hawaiian i have ever had. I have been told mine is a close second. Like all drinks though, a person's taste defines what is best (assuming someone is not mixing a blue hawaiian with PBR, mint jelly and cold duck)Without giving away the whole recipe, I do use cream of coconut and vodka and lt rum. My Blue is similar to Tiki Ti's, just a hair on the sweater side from the use of cream of coconut. And if you watch Mike or Mike Jr. make one, their "float" on top makes the drink. I have no shame in saying that I copied their float, but i also float another little something on top too. All in all, the Blue Hawaiian should be pretty strong, but as smooth as a lagoon.

Lady Velour (wife of Johnnie) was, until recently, a bartender. One time at a party at Johnnie's, she was behind the bar and 'invented' the most incredibly good tasting blue drink. I have no idea what was in it, but I'll never forget the name she gave it: "Hey - It's Blue!"

On 2005-01-06 19:09, tikitanked wrote:
...assuming someone is not mixing a blue hawaiian with PBR, mint jelly and cold duck...

Quackermint Ribbon?

Iron Chef Ahu KuKu-san

DawnTiki wrote:

I am having a problem with my Blue Hawaiian's cream curdling.

Nevermind...

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2005-01-08 23:32 ]

Close but off the subject: Just last night we had dinner with friends at one of the many Mexican eateries in town. This particular establishment has a signature Tequilla based, red, drink. I think it's basically a Hurricane made with Tequilla in place of Rum. My friend ordered this but they were out of the stuff used to make it, so in it's place ordered a Blue Hawaiian. The waiter presented the drink and on turning to walk off mumbled something in Spanish. My friend got this "Look" on his face like one gets when another person crosses the line, "That M.F.'r just called me a bitch!" he told us. Considering we live in a town that considers most tropical drinks "girl" drinks, it's likely the case. The rest of us (including his wife) just laughed and continued to harp on him the rest of the night saying things like, "How's your Blue Hawaiian Bitch?" :evil: :wink:

BTW: Though listed on the menu as Blue Hawaiian I believe now it was a Blue Hawaii as my friend reported it tasting like Vodka and not Rum.

I just finished watching the latest TikiBarTV episode..."Blue Hawaiian"...which got me recollecting my younger days at many Waikiki bars and nightclubs, as well as many others throughout the islands.

Back in the 1970's at least, almost every bartender in Hawaii would cringe if anyone ordered a "Blue Hawaiian." Their standard humorous bartender response all over Hawaii was...

"The only Blue Hawaiian is a dead Hawaiian! It's called the Blue Hawaii!!!" :)

So, I saw the TikiBarTV episode using "Hawaiian" and came here to see what the conventional wisdom was these days. Which seems to be a little more gray than blue. :wink:

But my memory is very clear on this...at that time at least...there was no such thing as a "Blue Hawaiian" cocktail, except in mis-prints or uninformed bar patrons. Bartenders back then used to joke about it regularly and say things like, "If one more haole calls it a Blue 'Hawaiian' tonight...I'm gonna..." :)

Anyway...can't tell you how many times I heard bartenders correct the tourists on this, while I was lounging away an afternoon on some beachfront barstool. One of those bartenders very well might have been Harry Yee himself...as I was a regular at the Hilton Hawaiian Village back then. And I very much remember a friendly and funny bartender named "Harry" that was there all the time. If it was him (and I suspect it was)...I had no idea back then that I was being served by such a cocktail legend!