Have you ever seen those super blue drinks? How do they get so blue? The answer is usually blue curacao syrup. But now the question on your mind may be what exactly is blue curacao syrup?

We wanted to find out as much as we could about blue curacao and boy did we find a lot of information! So now, we want to pass all that info along to you! We are about to answer all of the questions you have ever had about blue curacao. Now, where to begin….

What is Blue Curacao?

There is an island in the Caribbean called Curacao. This island is where blue curacao was first created in the 19th century. The Bols company started making a liqueur flavored with Laraha orange peels and dyeing the liquor a bright blue color. This orange tasting, blue liquor quickly became very popular in tropical drinks.

Over the years, curacao liqueur has been dyed a variety of colors. It is naturally a clear liquor so you can really make it any color you’d like! However, only the bright blue color really caught on and now, curacao liqueur is almost always blue.

But we definitely love that color! Just seeing a neon blue drink in a glass makes us think of laying on a tropical beach, drink in our hand, completely relaxed…

Is this Syrup Alcoholic?

Blue curacao is a type of liquor and it does have alcohol. Blue curacao has about 25% alcohol by volume (ABV). This is a little more mild than whiskey or rum which are about 40% ABV but it is definitely still alcoholic.

Since we like to focus on non alcoholic drinks, we use blue curacao syrup in place of blue curacao liqueur. It has the same delicious taste but none of the alcohol. Blue curacao syrup is also a lot sweeter which helps tropical drinks taste even better!

What Does Syrup Taste Like?

Speaking of flavor, you may be wondering what exactly blue curacao tastes like. Blue curacao is made with orange peels. This gives it a strong orange flavor that is a little bit sweet and also a little bit bitter.

Blue curacao syrup is much sweeter than blue curacao liqueur. It has lots of sugar added to the mix which helps it get that thick texture. It will add a sweet, citrus flavor to all your drinks in one easy step.

Where to Buy Blue Curacao Syrup

Blue curacao syrup is not hard to find. You can grab some in almost every liquor store across the country. Just be sure to get blue curacao syrup and not blue curacao liqueur- you don’t want any alcohol by accident!

You can also order blue curacao syrup online and get it delivered right to your door. How amazing is that! There are a lot of great brands of non alcoholic blue curacao syrup but our favorite is Torani blue curacao. It has an amazing orange flavor, a brilliant blue color and it is reasonably priced.

Monin blue curacao syrup is also quite good and we love that the French 1883 Curacao Syrup is preservative free. There are just so many fantastic choices that you might want to try them all!

How to Make Blue Curacao Syrup

If you don’t want to buy blue curacao syrup, you can try to make your own. It is not actually that hard! And our blue curacao syrup recipe makes a truly delicious syrup.

You will need a little bit of time, however. It takes three weeks to make a really good blue curacao syrup. Here is what you need to do:

Clean the oranges well. We recommend scrubbing them with warm water and a sponge to really get them clean.
Peel the oranges. We recommend using a very sharp knife to cut the peel off all the way around the orange. Remember that you are using the peel of the orange, not the flesh!
Place the orange peels in a large mason jar along with the grape juice, vinegar and white peach juice.
Close the jar, shake it and then place it in the fridge for three weeks. Shake it about once a week to stir everything up again.
After three weeks, add the cloves to the jar then let it sit for one more day.
Strain the orange peel mix and discard the peels and cloves, keeping only the juice.
Make a syrup by boiling the sugar and water then letting it cool.
Add the syrup to the infused orange juice then add blue food coloring. Stir well.

After all that stirring and waiting, your homemade blue curacao syrup is ready to use! And there are so many amazing drinks you can create with your new, blue secret ingredient.

Does blue curacao syrup need to be refrigerated? Yes, our homemade syrup should be refrigerated. While it does contain a lot of sugar and vinegar which act as preservatives, keeping it in the fridge will extend the shelf life and help it stay fresh for longer.

What to Make with Blue Curacao Syrup

So what do you mix blue curacao with? There are actually tons of ways to use this delicious syrup! Blue curacao drinks are typically tropical and fruity. They are often blended, making slushy drinks. You also want to be sure to use other ingredients that are clear or barely colored so that the brilliant blue color of the blue curacao syrup can really stand out.

Here are a few of our favorite drinks that use blue curacao syrup:

Starbucks Blue Drink Recipe - Starbucks blue drinks is a very popular, very colorful drink. It is made with passion fruit tea, soy milk, blueberries and blue curacao syrup. This is a fantastic everyday drink that you are sure to love.
Blue Long Island Mocktail - Blue curacao syrup, lemonade and green tea are the main ingredients in this tasty, strong mocktail. The blue, orange syrup is delicious with the bright lemonade and earthy tea. Don’t forget to add some maraschino cherries to make the drink even more eye catching!
Blue Hawaiian Drink Recipe- Drinks with blue curacao are typically very tropical. This drink is about as tropical as you can get! It is made with Hawaiian punch, coconut cream and pineapple juice. Skip the lime juice and use extra blue curacao syrup to give the drink and orange taste and bluer color.
Blue Mocktail Recipe- Want an easy blue curacao drink? This recipe takes just a few minutes to put together but has a refreshing, complex taste that you will adore. Blue curacao syrup, lemon juice, orange juice, seltzer and some fruit slices as a garnish are all you need!
Blue Pina Colada- Add ¼ cup of blue curacao syrup to this virgin pina colada recipe and you will have a gorgeous, tropical blue drink. Not only is a blue pina colada eye catching, but it is also packed with tropical fruit flavors that will make you feel like you are on a beach far, far away from reality.
Blue Curacao Milkshake - This is a fun way to liven up your dessert. Make a vanilla milkshake but add a tablespoon or two of blue curacao syrup. Not only will your milkshake turn a great blue color, but it will also have a nice orange flavor.

You can probably think of even more ways to use blue curacao syrup. It is quite versatile! Anything that would taste good with a little sweet, orange flavor can be mixed with blue curacao. Let us know if you create any incredible blue curacao drinks! We always want to try your creations.

Can I Drink Blue Curacao Straight?

Blue curacao is a super sweet liquor. You can sip it straight but it will definitely be sugary and thick. However, you may enjoy that! Try pouring it over some big ice cubes and sipping it slowly.

The same goes for our non alcoholic blue curacao syrup. It is a true syrup and very sweet. It is best when added to a mocktail or drink.

The sweetness of blue curacao can be easily cut with another tart citrus juice. Lime juice and lemon juice are great mixers for blue curacao. Bubbly seltzer is also a nice way to cut the sweetness of blue curacao and turn the syrup into more of a drink. Pineapple juice is also a classic ingredient to mix with blue curacao.

See our blue curacao drink ideas above. They are all great ways to use blue curacao syrup.

Is Blue Curacao Just Food Coloring?

Yes and no. Blue curacao is actually a fantastic orange spice flavored ingredient that you can use to enhance so many tropical drink recipes. It is aged for several days, allowing flavors to develop and grow. It is much more than just food coloring!

However, the blue color of blue curacao liquor and blue curacao syrup is completely food coloring. Without the blue dye, the syrup would be clear with almost no color at all. It needs food coloring to turn the blue color we know and love.

Want to know a fun fact about blue curacao syrup? You can buy curacao syrup in:

White
Orange
Red
Green
And the classic blue

All of the colors are the same flavor but just dyed differently. You can really transform your drinks using any of the colors of curacao syrup.

How Many Types of Curacao are There?

Not only are there different colors of blue curacao, there are also different flavors of curacao. You can find curacao in:

Coffee
Chocolate
Rum raisin

Those all sound pretty interesting! The flavored curacao are made the same way as the blue curacao, infusing the liquid with intense flavors.

Blue Curacao Variations

Just as there are different types of curacao to buy, you can also make your own various flavors of blue curacao. Our blue curacao recipe is pretty flexible! Here are a few ways to switch up our recipe and make the syrup a completely new flavor.

Use lemon and lime peels instead of orange. This will make an interesting, citrus flavored syrup.
Skip the cloves and add 10 whole coffee beans. Follow the recipe exactly other than this substitution and you will get a delicious coffee curacao. Consider dying it a different color other than blue to reflect the flavor. A rich brown would be perfect!
Add a cinnamon stick instead of cloves for a tasty cinnamon curacao. One cinnamon stick in the mason jar will do!
Use pineapple juice instead of white peach juice. You will get a very tropical, very fruity blue curacao. It will be delicious in a blue curacao pina colada or blue long island mocktail.

In addition to the various ways to flavor our blue curacao recipe, you can also dye the delicious syrup any way you’d like. Make the classic blue curacao syrup or try making a purple curacao! That would definitely be different!

Does Blue Curacao Taste Like Coconut?

Blue curacao is often mixed with coconut. It is a classic tropical drink and coconut is one of the most tropical ingredients out there! But blue curacao itself does not taste like coconut. It is an orange syrup made with laraha oranges which are a little bitter and a little sweet. It is this strong orange taste that you will get to enjoy with every sip! And that orange taste is delicious alongside coconut. Orange, coconut, pineapple, limes….it is all good!

Does Blue Curacao Turn Mouth Blue?

This is a fantastic question with a very simple answer. When enjoyed in moderation, blue curacao will not turn your mouth blue. While there is food coloring in blue curacao, it is actually not that much. When mixed into a drink, blue curacao syrup will not turn your mouth blue.

However, if you try to sip a lot of blue curacao syrup all at once, you may notice your mouth changing colors. Any food dye when consumed in mass will color your mouth. Just keep this in mind when you mix your drinks- drink blue curacao in moderation to prevent crazy mouth colors!

So, are you ready to give blue curacao a try? Do you think you will buy a bottle of blue curacao syrup or are you planning to make your own homemade blue curacao syrup? Whichever you choose, you are sure to make some amazing, very blue, non alcoholic drinks that everyone will enjoy!

Let us know your favorite blue curacao drink as we still can’t decide between our blue mocktail and a blue Starbucks drink… they are just both too good!

All about Blue Curacao Syrup

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Mocktail.net

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

About 24 servings, Resting Time: 22 days

Ingredients

3 oranges
1 ½ cups grape juice
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup white peach juice
4 cloves
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Blue gel food coloring

Directions

Wash the oranges well. You will be using the peel of the oranges so you want them to be really clean.
Peel the oranges- you will be using the peel so you can save the orange center for something else (or just eat them!).
Place all of the orange peels in a large glass mason jar. A quart sized jar will work well.
Add the white grape juice, vinegar and peach juice to the mason jar as well. Cover the jar with tight lid then shake well.
Place the jar in the fridge and let it sit for three weeks. Shake the jar once a week to stir up the juice well.
After three weeks, add the cloves to the jar, cover and shake again. Place the jar back in the fridge for one more day.
Add the white sugar and water to a small pot and bring the mix to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off the stovetop then let the syrup cool.
While the syrup is cooling, pour the orange peel mix through a sieve. Discar the orange peels and cloves and save the juice.
Mix the strained orange peel juice with the cooled syrup. Add the blue food coloring to the mix and stir. Add as much food coloring as you’d like to make the curacao syrup the color you’d like.
Pour the mix into a clean mason jar or bottle then store in the fridge. The syrup will keep for about a month in the fridge.

Tips and Tricks

• If you are able to get laraha oranges, use these in place of regular oranges. Laraha citrus fruits are the traditional fruits used to make blue curacao so these will make the best tasting syrup.
• Add a cinnamon stick instead of cloves to give the blue curacao syrup a unique spicy taste.
Tools:
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Cutting Board
• Sharp pairing knife
• Quart sized mason jar with lid