Blue Margarita for Carmen (with Curaçao)

Smooth, citrusy, a touch sweet, sour and salty, this Blue Margarita, with its electric blue colour, is quite possibly, the sexiest, most provocative margarita I have ever met!

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Blue Margarita

Margarita Recipe

The traditional margarita is a cocktail made with tequila, triple sec (like Cointreau), lime juice and simple syrup. It’s my favourite summer cocktail, with the possible exception of Pimm’s, that British standard, synonymous with Wimbledon.

Given my love of margaritas, I’m just amazed it’s taken me this long to make it, seeing how Curaçao is such an obvious substitute for Cointreau in terms of flavour.

At last count, I have 7 margarita recipes on this site? Today’s makes it 8! I did say I love margarita, didn’t I?

How this Blue Margarita came about

So I came across an Instagram post by an old Google+ friend of mine. Carmen takes beautiful photos and the effects she adds to them makes them even more eye catching and surreal. Just take a look at this image below.

The picture that inspired today’s drink

Amazing, right?

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make a blue cocktail. My mind was already racing with all sorts of possibilities, sifting through the ones I was already familiar with, like Blue Lagoon and Electric Lemonade.

Now coincidentally, I’d just ordered some blue pea flower powder, and was very, very tempted to use it for this blue cocktail. But I banished that idea almost immediately, because I wanted to make a blue cocktail with easy to find ingredients.

What better way to get inspiration than going through the collection of drinks on this site, right? So that’s just what I did. Lo, and behold, what did I see, but all those margaritas! So I thought, yeah, that’ll do, a blue margarita. I think my last one was a couple of years ago, guess it was about time again.

I briefly considered using the French Hpnotic, a combination of vodka, fruit and brandy, thinking the fruity flavours might be nice in a margarita. But the colour is pale to begin with, and would have just got lost completely with everything else. But I bought a bottle anyway, because, well, why not? 🙂

Blue Margarita Recipe

In the end, I went for a rather easy option, with spirits that should be easily available for most. And I didn’t want to tinkle with perfection, so we’ve got the same recipe as a traditional margarita, just using Curaçao instead of my beloved Cointreau.

So our blue margarita is made up of:

  • tequila
  • Curaçao
  • lime juice
  • simple syrup (always homemade, as it’s sugar + water)
  • salt for the rim (which I coloured blue)
I am loving that colour! Flowers are borage and salt’s been coloured blue

What is Curaçao?

Curaçao is, simply put, an orange liqueur. It is traditionally made with the peel of the bitter orange, laraha, found on the island of Curaçao, and coloured blue.

It is very similar in flavour to Cointreau, with a slightly sweeter aftertaste. I’m using Bols Curaçao here, the oldest and probably the most famous of the lot. Incidentally, it was previously known as Crème de Ciel (cream of the sky).

Curaçao is a fairly inexpensive liqueur, I got my 50cl bottle for £10. It goes a long way though when used as a cocktail ingredient.

What Tequila to use in Blue Margarita?

So, you know there are different types of tequila, right?

  • blanco (silver) – young and freshly distilled, it isn’t aged at all. Very popular in making margaritas and cocktails, and what we’re using here.
  • joven (young) – this is a mix, and isn’t common at all. It’s essentially blanco mixed with something else, like colour or even the aged añejo
  • reposado – (the word means rested) aged 2 months to a year in oak barrels, is golden, and has a more rounded flavour. To me, a better margarita tequila.
  • añejo – aged 1 to 3 years, is pretty smooth as best enjoyed on its own and not wasted in cocktails.
  • extra añejo – for true tequila afficionados, this is any tequila that’s been aged more than 3 years. A pretty dark tequila and super smooth.

So we are using Blanco Tequila in our Blue Margarita, as we don’t want to muddle the blue. No need to break the bank here, just get one that you can stomach on its own and is in your budget.

I’m using Cazcabel Blanco Tequila, which cost me about £23 for the 70cl bottle. It’s a fresh and fairly smooth tequila with spicy and citrusy notes, and has an abv of 38%. Perfect for our blue margarita.

Just having a little fun with the camera

What is Simple Syrup?

I was asked over at the Limoncello post to explain what this is, for newbies. So, going forward, I’ll do it in all relevant posts.

Simple Syrup is just water and white sugar, heated up and left to simmer for 10 minutes on the stove. The time may differ from person to person, but that is really all you are doing, making a sweetener for your drinks.

So there really isn’t any reason to buy a commercially made one as it’ll inevitably contain other ingredients that you don’t need. Or want.

I always give you more than one portion in the recipes, because I assume you’ll want more, and also because the syrup will keep happily for weeks. You only need to worry about the ants!

For that reason, I keep mine in the fridge in the summer, even if that means it thickens considerably.

So, that’s it. Another margarita for the collection, let’s go get our aprons on!

More Margaritas on LinsFood

Head on over to the drinks page for more margarita recipes, cocktails, infusions like Limoncello and Rhubarb Gin and articles on popular drinks like Baileys and D.O.M. Bénédictine.

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Strawberry Margarita, the Classy Summer Cocktail
Strawberry Margarita recipe – the perfect, classy summer cocktail
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Limoncello Margarita (a Limoncello Cocktail)
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If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!

And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood

Lin xx

Blue Margarita with Curacao

Blue Margarita for Carmen (with Curaçao)

Blue Margarita recipe – smooth, citrusy, a touch sweet, sour and salty, this electric Blue Margarita is the sexiest, most provocative margarita ever!
5 from 11 votes
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Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Mexican Fusion
Keyword: cocktails, margarita
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 1
Calories: 279kcal
Author: Azlin Bloor

Equipment

  • A cocktail shaker would be handy but not a must.

Ingredients

  • 60 ml tequila blanco
  • 30 ml Curaçao
  • 30 ml lime juice (save the used lime for the glass rim)
  • 15 ml simple sugar syrup (or to taste)
  • salt sprinkled on a saucer
  • lime slices for decorating the glass/drink
  • 2 ice cubes

Simple Sugar Syrup

  • 200 g white sugar
  • 125 ml water

Instructions

  • Run a lime slice all around the rim of your glass and dip the glass rim into the salt, coating well.
  • Add the required amounts of tequila, Curaçao, lime juice and syrup into your shaker with the ice cubes. If you don't have a shaker, just use a jug.
  • Shake it all up really well, both to mix as well as to chill the drink. If you don't have a shaker, just stir it all up in the jug.
  • Taste, add more syrup or lime juice if you think it needs it.
  • Pour the blue margarita, minus the ice cubes, into your prepared glass, stick a lime slice on and sip away!

Simple Sugar Syrup (needs to be made ahead and left to cool)

  • Place the water and sugar into a small pan and bring to a boil.
  • Simmer for 10 minutes on the lowest heat to allow the flavours to develop and the syrup to thicken.
  • Leave to cool, no need to place in the fridge.

Notes

Total time does not take into account the making of the simple syrup, which should be made, then cooled.
You will have excess syrup because I’m assuming you’ll be making more than 1 serving.
I usually make this amount, bottle it up and store it somewhere dark and cool. Be careful with drips if you have an ant problem. In the summer, I place it in the fridge, but it really does thicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 14mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin C: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
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6 thoughts on “Blue Margarita for Carmen (with Curaçao)”

  1. 5 stars
    This is awesome, I am speechless on the photography. Loving this margarita, though I am a novice in drinks but love to learn more on this , and your post has detailed out all.

  2. 5 stars
    OMG Lin! You know I’ve made 3 of your margarita recipes and loved them all, especially the limoncello one, made with YOUR limoncello recipe! I am definitely going to make this, buying the curacao tomorrow! Cheers!

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