This month’s MxMo theme is “Blue”. Leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Many of us will turn to that dusty old bottle of Blue Curacao in the back of the home bar. Some of us will be super creative in our ways of obtaining a blue hue. I fell into the traps of Blue Curacao. There’s blueberries, blue food coloring, and maybe even blackberries?  My creative juices weren’t flowing on this one because I tend to stay away from unnaturally blue drinks. I held two different bottles of Blue Curacao in my hands, staring at them, wondering which one was less chemically enhanced. Not sure if that helped, I chose Gionelli.  A brand I’d never heard of but was pleasantly surprised by. It’s not cloying sweet and leaves no after taste.

So, since I couldn’t get the creativity flowing, we ended up with a Blue Mai Tai and a Blue Colada. Two solid cocktails. For the colada, I employed one of my favorite infusions. Banana Rum. I can’t explain how good it is. And, easy. You should never in a million years purchase a banana “flavored” rum. Especially if it’s crystal clear.That’s usually a telling sign of artificiality.

For the banana infused rum: take 1 banana, cut it up and cover it with rum. When I’m making a small amount, I like to use a Ball Jar. It only takes 1 day for this infusion with no shaking. Strain after a day and your done.

Blue Mai Tai:

2oz. Jamaican Rum

1oz. Lime Juice

3/4oz. Blue Curacao

1/2oz. Orgeat

*Add all ingredients to shaker and fill with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wheel.

[Pepto] Blue Colada:

2 1/2oz. Banan Infused Rum

2oz. Coconut Creme [Such as Coco Lopez]

2oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice

3/4oz. Blue Curacao

1oz. Lime Juice

*Add all ingredients to shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled. Strain into Hurricane glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wheel. (If your feeling tiki’ish, throw a pineapple wedge on there) Cheers!

Thanks for hosting Ginhound!!