Blue Lagoon Mocktail Recipe

The Blue Lagoon is a classic tropical drink that immediately brings to mind the beach and lazy summer days. It's named for its gorgeous blue color, which comes from blue curaçao, a blue-colored, orange-flavored liqueur.

This simple blue cocktail is incredibly easy to convert to a mocktail everyone can enjoy - and it's even possible to make it without artificial colors or flavors.

About the classic Blue Lagoon

The original Blue Lagoon drink was created in Paris at Harry's New York Bar. It's unclear exactly when, but it popped up sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. According to Liquor.com, the inventor of the drink was Andy MacElhone, son of the famed bartender Henry MacElhone.

The recipe was a simple mix of vodka, blue curaçao, and lemon juice. Over time, the drink has evolved and it's most commonly made with vodka, blue curaçao and lemonade or lemon-lime soda.

In my opinion, the best-tasting Blue Lagoon is made in the style of a Collins, with fresh lemon juice and extra cold club soda for maximum effervescence. To convert this to a mocktail, we only need three ingredients: fresh lemon juice, non-alcoholic blue curaçao or blue syrup, and club soda or other sparkling water.

Non-alcoholic blue curaçao

One of my most viewed videos of all time on social media is my DIY blue curaçao recipe. It's incredibly easy to make, and only requires a little bit of patience. Instead of using artificial flavors, it's made by extracting the oils from fresh orange peels with sugar. When it comes to color, you can choose to use blue food coloring or try out blue spirulina for an all-natural syrup/liqueur.

Fortunately, my blue curaçao liqueur recipe can be made non-alcoholic by simply omitting the booze! Get the full recipe with lots of pro tips in my How to Make Blue Curaçao at Home.

Quick blue curaçao simple syrup

And if you're short on time, you can make a quick blue simple syrup. Combine equal parts sugar and water, then add blue food dye for color and orange extract for flavor. It comes together in just a few minutes and is remarkably similar to store bought blue curaçao.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• ½ - 1 teaspoon orange extract
• Blue food coloring or blue spirulina

Heat the water until just hot - not boiling, then pour it over the sugar in a heat proof container like a large glass measuring cup. Stir until all of the sugar dissolves, then add the orange extract and blue coloring. Store in a glass bottle or jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

If you'd rather purchase it, there are non-alcoholic blue curaçao syrups available on Amazon and sometimes even at Walmart or your local grocery store!

Bonus blue mocktail: Make a Blue Hawaii mocktail with this non-alcoholic blue curacao by simply omitting the rest of the drink's alcohol. Combine 3 oz pineapple juice, ½-1 oz blue curaçao syrup, and ½-1 oz lime juice in a cocktail shaker and fill it three quarters with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cocktail umbrella.

Virgin Blue Lagoon mocktail ingredients

Now that you have your non-alcoholic blue curaçao, it's time to make some drinks! Here are the ingredients.

• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 oz blue curaçao syrup
• 6-8 oz cold club soda or other sparkling water
• Lemon wheel and maraschino cherry, for garnish

To make the drink, fill a highball or hurricane glass with ice. Pour in the lemon juice and blue syrup and stir to combine. Top with club soda and garnish with a lemon wheel and cherry.

Pro tip: Add a tiny pinch of salt to make all the flavors pop!

Make it by the pitcher

To make Blue Lagoon Mocktails for a group, you can multiply all ingredients by your number of guests and then combine everything in a large pitcher filled with ice. Just keep in mind that carbonated drinks don't stay fizzy for long, so prepare it just before serving. You can also make the recipe with still, rather than sparkling, water.

Recipe variations

There's more than one way to make the original Blue Lagoon cocktail, so there's definitely more than one way to make it a mocktail. Here are some variations to try.

With Sprite

If you prefer a sweeter mocktail, you can top the drink with Sprite or another lemon-lime soda instead of club soda. Just keep in mind that the blue curacao syrup is quite sweet, so you may want to add more lemon juice to keep things balanced.

With lemonade

If you want the simplest Blue Lagoon possible, you can just add a splash of blue curacao syrup to a glass of lemonade. This is a great way to batch the drink for a party, like a baby shower. I recommend adding fresh lemon juice or serving each glass with a lemon wedge to keep things from getting too sweet.

With blue simple syrup and orange juice

Another variation that's helpful if you don't have non-alcoholic blue curaçao or orange extract is to make a plain blue simple syrup and then add a splash of orange juice. The orange flavor of the blue curacao syrup is fairly subtle so you don't have to add much.

You might enjoy these other mocktail recipes:

• Strawberry Dragon Fruit Mocktail with Sprite
• Spicy Jalepeño Mule Mocktail
• Blackberry Paloma Mocktail