Solar Eclipse (Blue Pineapple) Cocktail

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A Solar Eclipse Cocktail for Your Celebration

In April of 2024, a total solar eclipse is going to pass right over our house. Being directly in the path of totality, clearly we'll be hosting an eclipse viewing party. My guess is that, whether you're in the path of totality, traveling to see it, viewing a partial eclipse, or just seeing it on the news, most of you will be watching it too. That's why you need a special solar eclipse cocktail!

I designed this show-stopping blue pineapple cocktail to represent the transition from sunlight to darkness to sunlight that will occur in the path of totality. Although there's some artistic license here in the colors, to me the layers symbolize the sequence of sun-moon-sun. I think this colorful sip would steal the show at any party, don't you agree?

Because I'm guessing that many of you will be traveling or hosting for the event, I also wanted to make sure you could create this drink very easily (even though it looks fancy). Accordingly, this solar eclipse recipe requires just a handful of ingredients. And although the recipe calls for rum, pineapple is wonderful with a wide variety of distilled products (see details below) and you can easily make substitutions.

A blue pineapple cocktail for celebrating the solar eclipse

How to Make a Blue Cocktail (Naturally)

While blue curacao is often used to make drinks blue, it's essentially just a low-proof orange liqueur with a bunch of food coloring and sugar. However I've spent a lot of time experimenting with natural blue cocktails and I'm excited to share my secret with you. Can you guess how this stunning blue pineapple cocktail is colored?

To make a blue cocktail naturally, I use blue spirulina! It's an edible algae, and a relative of the more common green spirulina. I find it works best if I dissolve the spirulina in a dash of room-temperature water first, then mix it into the cocktail after dissolving. It's a great trick and I guarantee you'll be making lots of blue spirulina cocktails once you get the hang of it (including my three-layered Unicorn Cocktail, which is one of my absolute favorites).

Don't have blue spirulina? No worries, this solar eclipse recipe will work perfectly fine with any liquid food coloring of your choice. I don't recommend using blue curacao though; its high sugar content won't allow the blue layer to float easily on top of the pineapple juice.

Solar eclipse cocktail with blue and yellow layers

How to Make This Solar Eclipse Cocktail

Even though this stunning blue spirulina cocktail looks fancy, it comes together in just a few easy steps. Refer to the step-by-step photos below as a guide. Here's how to do it:

Step #1: Dissolve the Spirulina

Start off by dissolving the blue spirulina in a barspoon or two of water, right in the bottom of your cocktail shaker. The spirulina dissolves more efficiently in water than it does in alcohol, so I like to start with a dash of water whenever I make a blue spirulina cocktail. Make sure to use only the tiniest splash of water though; because water is more dense than alcohol, adding too much water could cause your blue layer to mix with the pineapple juice below. Let it sit for a minute while you prepare the rest of the drink.

Step #2: Prepare the Glass

Add a thin, circular slice of pineapple to a wide-mouth glass so that its shape mimics the sun. Fill the glass with crushed ice, which will help the pineapple slice to stay in-place. This solar eclipse recipe will look much better with a full pineapple slice, so I definitely suggest getting a whole pineapple rather than trying to use canned.

Step 1: add ice and a pineapple disk to the glass

Step #3: Add the Bottom Layer (Pineapple Juice)

The bottom layer of this cocktail is easy; it's just pineapple juice. I wanted to make sure the ingredients for this solar eclipse recipe were easy to find and travel with, so pineapple juice straight from the can (ideally chilled) is fine. Pour in about 2 oz, or enough to fill your glass about two thirds of the way.

Step 2: add the bottom layer of the cocktail

Step #4: Mix and Float the Top Layer (Blue Rum)

Finally, add the rum and lime juice to the cocktail shaker with the dissolved blue spirulina. Shake with ice, but only very briefly. As mentioned above, adding too much water (i.e., through melting ice) could cause this layer to mix into the pineapple juice rather than float on top. Using a fine mesh strainer to remove the lime pulp and any wayward clumps of blue spirulina, very gently pour the blue layer on top of the pineapple juice.

Congratulations, you just made a very stunning blue pineapple cocktail! For best results, I suggest serving this immediately since the melting ice could cause the layers to start mixing. This layered blue spirulina cocktail is best enjoyed with a straw so that you can enjoy the two different layers together.

Step 3: add the top layer of the cocktail

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here's what you'll need for this unique blue spirulina cocktail, as well as some thoughts, tips, and possible substitutions. If you make any substitutions, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.

  • Blue spirulina. You may need to order this edible algae online (I buy mine from Unicorn Superfoods), but I promise you'll have fun with it. It's great for smoothie bowls, nicecream, yogurt, and of course colorful cocktails. If you can't find it though, traditional blue food coloring will also work.
  • Pineapple slice. Because the pineapple slice is important for the alternating colors, getting a fresh pineapple is really the best way to create this cocktail. Use a very sharp knife to carefully create thin, flexible slices that can be curved into a glass.
  • Pineapple juice
  • White rum. The flavors in this solar eclipse recipe are quite neutral, and pineapple goes great with virtually any spirit, so you have a lot of options. Rum is a logical choice since it's fabulous with pineapple, but blanco tequila or even gin would work well. Just make sure you choose a spirit that is unaged and colorless, otherwise the blue layer will look muddy.
  • Lime juice. Fresh-squeezed is a must in any cocktail. No worries if you're traveling, whole limes are fine out of the fridge for days.

A beautiful, naturally-colored blue spirulina cocktail

Closing Thoughts

Isn't this blue pineapple cocktail so special? I love that it looks and feels fancy yet is actually easy to make, with just a few ingredients. I also love that it's easily customizable based on your preferences and what else is on the menu; there aren't many cocktails in which rum, tequila, or gin will all work well.

Can you believe the path of totality on April 8, 2024, will be right over our house? We're so excited that we'll get to see it without having to travel. Of course everyone we know wants to come to our house too, so I'll likely be making a big afternoon party menu of drinks and snacks. I can't wait to mix up some of these solar eclipse cocktails and enjoy the show!

Solar eclipse cocktail for the April 8 2024 total solar eclipse

Share It!

It makes me so happy to hear from you and see your creations! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this recipe. If you post a photo on Instagram, hashtag #TheRogueBrusselSprout and tag me (@TheRogueBrusselSprout) in the post text so that I'm sure to see it.

As with all my cocktail recipes, please enjoy responsibly!

Suggested Pairings

Tropical Guacamole

Rainbow Mexican Black Bean Salad

Tropical Pineapple Tostadas

Tropical Macadamia Mango Slaw

Tropical Vegan Macadamia Tacos

Solar Eclipse (Blue Pineapple) Cocktail

Celebrate the total solar eclipse with this special blue pineapple cocktail. Colored to represent the light-dark-light sequence of the moon blocking the sun, this easy solar eclipse cocktail is perfect for your watch party.

Author:
Lee

Ingredients

  • Barspoon of water
  • Pinch of blue spirulina
  • Thin, circular pineapple slice
  • 2 oz pineapple juice
  • 1.5 oz white rum
  • 0.25 oz lime juice

Instructions

  1. In a cocktail shaker, dissolve the blue spirulina in a barspoon or two of water.
  2. Add the pineapple slice to a wide-mouth glass and fill the glass with ice.
  3. Pour the pineapple juice into the serving glass.
  4. Add the rum and lime juice to the cocktail shaker with the blue spriulina and shake with ice.
  5. Using a fine-mesh strainer, gently float the blue rum mixture on top of the pineapple juice.

Leave a Comment

Please Share Your Thoughts!

Did you make this recipe? Did you make substitutions? How did you serve it? Any helpful tips? Please share your thoughts, since these insights are really useful to both me and to other readers.

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Simon
April 6, 2024
Wow this is awesome, will def be making for our party
EBC
March 25, 2024
Wow this is so cool thanks for sharing. We have some friends visiting us for the eclipse and we'll definitely be making these. I don't have spirulina so I think I'll try it with some natural gel food coloring.
Phil
April 2, 2024
You don't think blue curacao will work?
Lee
April 3, 2024
Phil- Thanks for asking this. My concern with using blue curacao is that it has a very high sugar content and so its density is very high. I'd be worried that, when you mix it with the rum, all that added sugar will increase the density of the rum such that it won't float on the pineapple juice. If you want to give it a try, I'd suggest adding a very small amount of blue curacao and trying a mini-version first (i.e., just in a shot glass) to see if it will work. Please leave a comment if you have any luck, I'm sure others are curious too.