Skip to content
Spirlix
Log in Sign up
All cocktails Blue Moon

Log in to see whether your bar can pour this

Blue Moon

Classic/vintage · Floral (e.g. Elderflower spritz)

3.8 41 ratings

Ingredients

2 oz Gin
1/3 oz Crème de violette
1/3 oz Lemon juice
1/6 oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1)
1/3 oz Egg white (pasteurised)

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare raspberries for garnish.

Method

  1. 3 SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain back into shaker.
  2. 4 DRY SHAKE (without ice).
  3. 5 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. 6 Garnish with raspberries.

Flavour profile

20.7% alc./vol. · 1.5 standard drinks · 181 calories

History

A relative of the Aviation, the Blue Moon appeared on the back label of Créme Yvette bottles in the 1940s. The cocktail became so associated with the liqueur that it faded from popularity when Créme Yvette production ceased in 1969. Interest in the drink was revived in 2010 when Rob Cooper relaunched his family's liqueur, Créme Yvette. Rob Cooper's dedication to authentically replicating the original liqueur was noted during work on St-Germain at that time. However, the Blue Moon can also be made with crème de violette. Créme Yvette yields a pale pink drink, whereas crème de violette produces a blue-grey hue, fitting the cocktail's name. This color difference suggests the Blue Moon was originally created with crème de violette before being adapted for marketing Créme Yvette. The term "blue moon" refers to the second full moon within a single calendar month.

This cocktail is said to have been created around 1940 by Oscar Tschirky at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York, USA. "Oscar of the Waldorf," as he was better known, served as maître d'hôtel at the Waldorf-Astoria and is also credited with inventing the Waldorf salad and Eggs Benedict. Despite never having worked as a chef, he authored a cocktail book, capitalizing on his reputation at the hotel.

Also known as Blue Devil Cocktail