We may pretend to be hoity-toity cocktail snobs, but the truth is that we’re suckers for a neon-colored drink or a ridiculous tiki garnish. Sadly, when it comes to good blue drinks, the pickings are slim; blue curaçao has historically not been an ingredient that most serious mixologists put much thought into.
When we found the Blue Ricardo in the pages of Imbibe magazine, credited to Fairweather in San Diego, we approached with hopeful-but-hesitant curiosity. Two sweeteners plus blue stuff doesn’t bode well for a balanced cocktail in our experience, and we expected to end up with a tongue-staining sugar bomb.
Thank goodness we were wrong! The Blue Ricardo is tart, sweet, lovely; the sweet elements are grounded by the rum and fresh lemon juice. The blue curaçao is added just at the end, melting beautifully into the glass and opening the first few sips with a sweet kiss of orange before transitioning into a bright, fruity sour.
