Summer Blues?

It’s easy to feel blue, what with the terrible weather, England’s disappointing performance at the Euros or lacklustre performances of iconic bands at recent festivals.  But fear not; why not raise your spirits with a blue cocktail?  ‘Blue?’ I hear you say, yes blue!

Sweet Freedom cocktail

Ever since most good bars left blue drinks behind in the eighties there has been a bit of a stigma attached to them, mostly due to the fact that most bartenders had to use a Blue Curacao of some sort which is essentially an orange liqueur with blue colouring added. Additives are generally classed as a bad thing and as so anyone with an ounce of self-respect ceased drinking or making drinks with them.

Today we are lucky enough to have access to many more exotic fruits and ingredients to turn drinks blue, but even if you cannot get your hands on them Blue Curacao need not be the enemy. Consider this; the additive is nowhere near as bad for you as the alcohol contained in the drink. There I said it, a staunch advocate for cocktails talking about the evils of alcohol but you are not stupid, deep down you have always known this. So as cocktails are, amongst other things, more fun than some other drinks we intend to have some fun with blue drinks, we will rise up and lead the blue revolution. If you fancy some fun- go blue!

With this in mind on Monday 17^th September at Island Bar we are hosting a cocktail competition between our sister venues to create the perfect blue drink.  Throughout the entire month we will also be donating funds to the urology department of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust Charity every time we sell a blue drink.  This month has been named internationally as Blue September with the aim to raise awareness of cancer affecting men of all ages, and with funds from the cocktails going directly to our local hospitals there’s all the more reason to get involved.

So come along and enjoy blue - responsibly of course.

Sweet Freedom

35ml light Scotch whisky

35ml blue curacao

35ml fresh pressed apple juice

15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Dash sugar syrup

Shake all the ingredients with cubed ice and fine strain into a coupette glass.

This article was first published in Brumnotes