Blue Lagoon Mocktail
بلیو لیگون موکٹیل
Blue lagoon is the electric-blue drink that shows up at birthday parties, mehndis and café tables across Pakistan. This version is completely alcohol-free: the colour and orange-peel flavour come from blue curaçao syrup, sold for mocktails, which is mixed with fresh lemon and lemon-lime soda. Fresh lemon juice is what makes it work, cutting the sweetness of the syrup so the drink tastes bright instead of sugary.
- ⏱ Total: 5 min
- Prep: 5 min
- Easy
- Serves 2
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Chill the soda and the glasses for at least 30 minutes. A blue lagoon tastes best ice-cold and keeps its fizz longer that way.
Put the ice cubes and half the lemon slices in a jug.
Pour in the blue curaçao syrup and the lemon juice and stir for a few seconds to mix them.
Slowly pour the chilled soda down the side of the jug, then stir once, gently, until the colour is an even bright blue.
Taste. If it is too sweet, add a squeeze more lemon; if too sharp, a teaspoon more syrup.
Pour into the chilled glasses with the ice, garnish with the remaining lemon slices and a mint sprig, and serve at once.
Kitchen notes
Blue curaçao is sold both as an alcoholic liqueur and as an alcohol-free syrup, and the bottles can look alike. Always buy the one labelled syrup or non-alcoholic.
Do not swap fresh lemon for bottled lemon juice or lemon squash. The drink becomes flat and overly sweet.
A party drink you can spot across the room
Blue lagoon started life in the 1960s as a vodka cocktail coloured with blue curaçao, an orange liqueur from the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The alcohol-free version kept the colour and the citrus flavour and dropped everything else, and in Pakistan it has become a fixture of birthday parties, mehndi functions and café menus. Children love the colour, adults like that it is cold and tangy, and it photographs beautifully on a party table.
Getting the balance right
Blue curaçao syrup is very sweet, with a bitter orange-peel note in the background. On its own with soda it can taste like a melted ice lolly. Fresh lemon juice is what turns it into a proper drink: its sharpness balances the sugar and brings out the citrus in the syrup. Start with the amounts here and then adjust, a squeeze of lemon at a time, until it tastes bright. Pour the soda slowly and stir only once, because every vigorous stir knocks out bubbles. Lemon-lime soda gives the classic café version; plain soda water with a teaspoon of sugar makes a drier, less sweet glass.
Variations
- Blue lemonade: replace the soda with chilled water and add one more tablespoon of lemon juice for a still drink.
- Blue mojito: a few mint leaves and lime wedges in the jug before adding the syrup.
- Ocean slush: blend the syrup, lemon and ice into a slush and top with soda in the glass.
Serving and storing
Mix the blue lagoon just before serving. You can measure the syrup and lemon into the jug an hour ahead and keep it in the fridge, then add ice and soda when guests arrive. Opened syrup keeps for months in a cool cupboard.
Questions people ask
Is blue lagoon alcoholic?
The original cocktail contains vodka and blue curaçao liqueur. This mocktail uses only alcohol-free blue curaçao syrup, lemon and soda, so it contains no alcohol.
What can I use instead of blue curaçao syrup?
Mix 3 tablespoons of [[simple-syrup]] with a little grated orange zest and one or two drops of blue food colour. It gives the same look and a similar flavour.
How do I get a two-tone layered look?
Pour the syrup into each glass first, fill with ice, then pour the lemon and soda very slowly over the back of a spoon. Serve unstirred and let guests mix it.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 210
- Protein
- 0 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
