Blue Hawai-Tai

Blue Hawai-Tai by Kevin Crossman
It’s like the Blue Hawaii and the Mai Tai had a baby.

1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz White Overproof Jamaican Rum *
½ oz Aged White Rum *
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake and dump into a small snifter glass. Garnish with Mint and tropical fruit.

• Recommended spirits: Any white Jamaican Overproof rum will do fine (Wray & Nephew Overproof, Rum-Bar, Rum Fire). For the white rum we recommend something with at least some pot-still component (Probitas, Denizen White, Myers’s White, Plantation 3 Star), but if you prefer something lighter than something with at least a little age such as Cruzan is recommended.

Never in my life have I bought blue curaçao. Do you have a preferred brand, Kevin?

Giffard is the only Blue Curacao I've tried so far that doesn't ruin the drinks. It's pretty good.

On 2020-02-10 22:21, Hamo wrote:
Never in my life have I bought blue curaçao.

Use orange and manipulate the colors on photoshop or your phone :)

Hmm, I believe the only Giffard I've seen on the shelves of my regular haunts here in Colorado is the Pamplemousse, but maybe the next time I decide to order something from Hi-Time....

On 2020-02-11 14:26, kkocka wrote:

Use orange and manipulate the colors on photoshop or your phone :)

There's a thought.

The very few times I "need" green creme de menthe, I add green food coloring to the measure from my clear bottle, but I don't have the courage to try the same with my Pierre Ferrand.

I use Senior Blue Curacao. Great stuff! They actually have several colours available but I've only had the blue and the clear.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, they usually have all of them in stock at Ledger's Liquors in Berkeley.

On 2020-02-12 15:54, HopeChest wrote:
I use Senior Blue Curacao. Great stuff! They actually have several colours available but I've only had the blue and the clear.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, they usually have all of them in stock at Ledger's Liquors in Berkeley.

I wish this stuff was more widely available. I don't know if anyone in my area even carries it anymore. Depending on my rum blend, their standard curacao is often my preference over Ferrand in a Mai Tai. I know they recently (last year or so?) changed their label. Not sure if the formula changed along with that. Hope not. I still have a tiny bit of an old bottle remaining and a full new label one, so should compare. Never tried their colored varieties. Presumably they're the same with just added food coloring. Not that I make a habit of using blue curacao, but the most tolerable I've had is Bols. Mildly less medicinal than the Ready Rabbits and DeKyupers of the world. I'm willing to bet Senior and Giffard's offerings are better.

On 2020-02-13 09:55, mikehooker wrote:

I wish this stuff was more widely available. I don't know if anyone in my area even carries it anymore. Depending on my rum blend, their standard curacao is often my preference over Ferrand in a Mai Tai. I know they recently (last year or so?) changed their label. Not sure if the formula changed along with that. Hope not. I still have a tiny bit of an old bottle remaining and a full new label one, so should compare. Never tried their colored varieties. Presumably they're the same with just added food coloring. Not that I make a habit of using blue curacao, but the most tolerable I've had is Bols. Mildly less medicinal than the Ready Rabbits and DeKyupers of the world. I'm willing to bet Senior and Giffard's offerings are better.

If someone told me that the DeKuyper could also be used as antifreeze, I wouldn't bat an eyelash - some of the most horrid stuff I have ever put in a drink. Bols is definitely better.

Not sure if you're anywhere near the Total Wine locations but they can usually get the Senior for you via in-store transfer if another location has it. Give 'em a ring! I've never seen the Giffard Blue in the wild but would totally grab a bottle to try if I did.

As a side note, when Beachbum Berry gave a talk at Trader Vic's not long ago, he mentioned that he actually doesn't like the Pierre Ferrand and that his preference is Bols, which he said is also what they use at Latitude 29. I was quite surprised.

Use orange and manipulate the colors on photoshop or your phone :)

What about drinking in real life? People like blue drinks.

On 2020-02-13 15:25, HopeChest wrote:

Not sure if you're anywhere near the Total Wine locations but they can usually get the Senior for you via in-store transfer if another location has it. Give 'em a ring! I've never seen the Giffard Blue in the wild but would totally grab a bottle to try if I did.

As a side note, when Beachbum Berry gave a talk at Trader Vic's not long ago, he mentioned that he actually doesn't like the Pierre Ferrand and that his preference is Bols, which he said is also what they use at Latitude 29. I was quite surprised.

Good call on Total Wine, I just did a search on their website and the two stores I normally frequent don't have it but another one in town does. Yay!

Wasn't Berry a big advocate for Pierre Ferrand at one point? I know he was really behind Fees Falernum, which is loaded with garbage ingredients, so I usually take his recommendations with a grain of salt. I don't know if I've ever seen a Bols curacao that wasn't blue, and the blue one does not taste good. I wonder if that's a cost thing for his bar, or if Bols regular curacao is actually good. Or was he just talking about the blue one for their blue bowl drink? Maybe they use something else in the Mai Tai? A friend is actually going tonight, I'll see if he could get more info...

Well, I happened to find Bols Blue Curaçao at a local store the other night, but I came home with Stiggins' Fancy and Xaymaca instead.

As for the Bum and curaçao, in Remix's Ingredient Glossary he says, "Marie Brizard and Senior Curacao are best, followed by Bols," then goes on to praise Bols Dry Curacao, which uses rum over brandy as it's base. Maybe that's why he would prefer it to Pierre Ferrand?

On 2020-02-15 13:14, Hamo wrote:
Well, I happened to find Bols Blue Curaçao at a local store the other night, but I came home with Stiggins' Fancy and Xaymaca instead.

As for the Bum and curaçao, in Remix's Ingredient Glossary he says, "Marie Brizard and Senior Curacao are best, followed by Bols," then goes on to praise Bols Dry Curacao, which uses rum over brandy as it's base. Maybe that's why he would prefer it to Pierre Ferrand?

Thanks for the clarification. Guess I was mistaken. I thought when he posted about the $100 Mai Tai, Pierre Ferrand was the suggested orange liqueur, but I can't find evidence of that. I'm still having a hard time thinking the Bols dry curacao is any different in flavor than their blue varietal, which I wouldn't allow near my good rums. Someone please convince me otherwise.

I'm not sure how much anyone should be basing current purchasing decisions on something The Bum wrote about in Remixed in 2010.

Also, there's a Beachbum Berry Falernum now available and presumably the brand he recommends these days.

Here's a post about the $100 Mai Tai.
https://professorcocktail.com/2012/03/05/the-100-mai-tai/

though the Curacao isn't specific on Berry's currently available "how to make a Mai Tai" page
https://beachbumberry.com/recipe-mai-tai.html

Uh oh: "A Mai Tai should not be blue."

Good point about the Bum's past recommendations and where we stand now with available quality ingredients.

Apparently, Bols' Dry Curaçao is different than what's available stateside. Either way, now I'm on a curaçao quest, both blue and rum-based--a search for the ultimate curaçao, you might say.