Tiki Tasting: Drillaud Blue Curacao

We recently had a friend tell us that s/he (we don’t want to name names!) hated Blue Hawaiians. Now, that may not be your favorite tropical drink, but surely it is not hate-able – even if it is blue. The problem in this case was that the only Blue Hawaiians this friend had ever experienced were really bad ones made with very cheap ingredients. The worst offender is often cheap blue curacao, which many people (wrongly) assume is nothing more than alcoholic food coloring. While it does introduce a striking blue color to a cocktail, blue curaçao is an orange liqueur and that flavor should be its most important feature.

This is a rather lengthy way of saying that if you are using high quality ingredients, you are always going to have a better drink, and when it comes to blue curaçao, it doesn’t get much better than Drillaud Blue Curaçao. This French liqueur will change anyone’s mind about blue curaçao because it is just that delicious. The liqueur, like other curaçaos, is made by infusing a neutral spirit with bitter orange and spices. Drillauds has a strong bitter orange flavor that also tastes incredibly fresh, not unlike biting into an orange rind. It has a thick, syrupy mouthfeel, but is surprisingly well-balanced and not overly sweet. It finishes with a warm rush of ripe orange and a hint of spice.

You would certainly never guess it was blue if you tasted it with your eyes closed, and it really brings a sophisticated blend of flavors to any cocktail that you use it in. As we’ve shopped around, it seems that this brand isn’t all that common, but it tends to be reasonably priced and a bottle will last you a long time – unless you really start to go crazy with those Blue Hawaiians!

Liqueur Rating: 5/5

Liqueur Rating Scale:
0/5 – What is this?
1/5 – Bad. Not worth buying and not worth drinking
2/5 – Not very good, but ok in a pinch.
3/5 – Good and gets the job done.
4/5 – Very tasty liqueur, with complex flavors that is very good on its own or in cocktails.
5/5 – Absolutely delicious, high quality liqueur.