Blue Drinks to Celebrate Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year

What are some blue-colored alcoholic drinks that can commemorate the 2020 color of the year?

1. Royal Blue Cocktail
2. Blue Lagoon
3. Blue on Blue
4. Blue Margarita
5. The Blue Danube
6. Liquor with a blue label or bottle

  Colors are not the first thing one would associate with alcoholic beverages, but thanks to the new year and Pantone, a company well-known for creating colors, there’s a new reason to enjoy some alcoholic drinks! According to Pantone, the 2020 color of the year is classic blue and if you know how people revere Pantone’s color of the year then you can already expect to see this color everywhere — including the food and drink you will come across. In terms of alcohol, this also means an increased chance of seeing blue drinks on a night out.

  Colors usually have no effect on taste and potency, two of the main deciding factors when trying to discern if a certain alcoholic beverage is of good quality, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy blue-colored drinks. That being said, here is a list of drinks and cocktails you can make at home or your bar to commemorate Pantone’s 2020 color of the year.

Royal Blue Cocktail

  To start the list, you have the royal blue cocktail. Despite having ‘royal blue’ in its name, this cocktail is the perfect drink to serve if you truly value Pantone’s color of the year selections. Thanks to the sweet and bitter blue curacao, the universal alcoholic ingredient that turns any drink blue, and the other fruity components — this drink is both sweet and more appropriate as a night time drink.

Here’s what you’ll need (1 serving):

• 2 ounces cranberry juice cocktail
• 2 tablespoons (1 oz.) citron vodka or plain vodka
• 2 tablespoons (1 oz.) blue curacao
• 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz.) fresh lime juice
• Coarse sugar or granulated sugar (optional)
• Lime wedge (optional)

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add the cranberry juice, vodka, curacao, and lime juice; cover and shake well.
3. Strain contents into a martini glass, serve, and enjoy!

  If you want to give it an added kick of sweetness, moisten the rim of the martini glass with a lime wedge and dip in the granulated sugar to coat it. This makes every sip that much more sugary and enjoyable.

Blue Lagoon

  The Blue Lagoon might be similar to the previous cocktail, but as you would come to know, they are better served for different occasions. Aside from that, subtle differences in ingredients give this drink its own identity. This is better enjoyed during the day, especially when it’s particularly hot outside thanks to the iced nature of this drink.

Here’s what you’ll need (1 serving):

• 1 ½ oz. Vodka
• 1 ½ oz. Blue Curaçao
• 4 oz. Lemonade
• Splash Lime Juice
• Lemon Wheel and/or Cherry for garnish

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add the vodka, lemonade, and lime juice. Shake well.
3. Fill a tall glass with ice and pour the contents of the shaker into it.
4. Drizzle some blue curacao on top then garnish with the lemon wheel and cherry.
5. Serve and enjoy!

  Depending on how much alcohol by volume (abv) your preferred brand of Blue Curaçao has, you can add more or less to the mix to achieve a desired strength and taste. However, you would do well to add a lot of it to achieve the classic blue shade prescribed by Pantone.

Blue on Blue

  This next drink, the Blue on Blue, comes from Absolut’s own recipe book. It’s another case of the classic vodka and blue curacao combo, but feel free to choose whichever brand of vodka you prefer. Alcoline has many offers on vodka products, so you definitely have no shortage of options. In terms of its characteristics, the twist of this cocktail is the coconut water component. It gives it a different flavor profile and adds another unique dimension to this drink.

Here’s what you need (1 serving):

• 1 oz. Vodka
• 5 oz. Coconut water
• 5 oz. Cranberry Juice
• ⅓ oz. of Blue Curacao
• Simple syrup to taste
• Blueberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add all of the ingredients then shake well.
3. Strain on a small glass filled with ice.
4. Garnish with the blueberries, serve, and enjoy!

  While the coconut water might give the drink a lighter shade of blue than desired, adjusting the amount of blue curacao is up to your discretion. Also, you might have noticed that there is no specified measurement for the simple sugar and that is because the sweetness of the drink is completely up to you.

Blue Margarita

  In true cocktail list fashion, the margarita also makes an appearance for blue drinks to celebrate Pantone’s 2020 color of the year. However, as you probably suspected, blue curacao is the difference-maker. Put simply, this is simply a blue-colored margarita that many will surely enjoy drinking.

Here’s what you need (1 serving):

• 2 oz. tequila
• 1 oz. blue curaçao
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. lime juice
• Lime wedge
• Salt

Directions:

1. As per usual, a cocktail shaker filled with ice is needed.
2. Pour all the liquid components in and shake well.
3. Rim a margarita glass with salt by moistening the edges with a lime wedge then dipping it into salt.
4. Strain the contents of the shaker into the glass, serve, and enjoy!

  No added explanations needed here. Serve it at parties, get-togethers, or during nights when you are craving for a margarita.

The Blue Danube

  If you consider yourself a brave soul wanting to push the boundaries of blue cocktail drinking, then the Blue Danube can possibly be the drink for you. It takes its name from the first operational British nuclear weapon mainly because that is how strong this drink is in terms of alcoholic strength. That being said, drink this responsibly and with caution because it will surely pack a heavy punch to those that dare drink it.

Here’s what you need (1 serving):

• Vodka, ½ oz.
• Rum, ½ oz.
• Gin, ½ oz.
• Tequila, ½ oz.
• Blue Curacao, ½ oz.
• 2 oz. sweet and sour mix
• 2 oz. clear-colored soda

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Add all the ingredients except the soda and shake well for about a minute.
3. Strain the drink in a highball glass filled with ice cubes.
4. Top it off with some soda, serve, and enjoy!

  Sweet and sour mix is simply a mix of lemon and lime juice with some simple syrup. You can make it on your own if store-bought mixes are unavailable. Thanks to the many alcoholic components, this will surely be the drink that will satisfy your cravings if the previous entries on this list didn’t pique your interest. Limit consumption to one or two drinks per person to ensure that no one gets too drunk.

Liquor with a blue label or bottle

  If mixed drinks and cocktails aren’t your thing, then there’s no need to panic because there are other alcoholic beverages you can drink to commemorate Pantone’s 2020 color of the year. One classy alternative would be to drink some fine Johnny Walker Blue Label Whisky. The color and label alone make it appropriate, and you wouldn’t have to look for other ingredients. Whiskey is best served neat or on the rocks, but feel free to serve and drink it in any way you like.

  There are also plenty of spirits such as gin and vodka with a blue-colored bottle you can drink if whiskey is not your drink. As long as the reference to classic blue is there, it is good enough for us.

Key Takeaway

  Commemorating the Pantone 2020 color of the year with blue drinks is a novel yet seemingly appropriate way to add a new twist to your drinking endeavors. Next time you see a bottle of blue curacao on the market, don’t hesitate to purchase it. Follow some of the recipes and drinks listed above to try something new and surprise your friends and family with your creativity. As always, please drink responsibly.

  If you are looking for most, if not all, of the ingredients mentioned above, head on over to Alcoline’s website and see all their offerings on alcoholic beverages and more. Click here to get started.