How to Make an Elevated Aqua Velva Cocktail

The Aqua Velva drink is a bright blue cocktail that’s sweet, tart, and bubbly! Here’s an elevated spin on the classic.

A drink inspired by an aftershave may not sound like your next party offering, but the Aqua Velva is a bright blue masterpiece of a cocktail, as long as you make some tweaks. Some versions of this 1980s cocktail can be sickly sweet.

But I’ve found that making it with fresh lemon juice and sparkling water over sweetened sodas turns it into something refreshingly complex. All of a sudden, the botanical notes in the gin shine through, pairing perfectly with the citrus of the blue curaçao. It even tastes a teeny bit like…deliciously drinkable aftershave.

The Basics

The Aqua Velva is a cocktail made with vodka, gin, and blue curaçao, inspired by a brand of aftershave of the same name. There’s no documented origin story of the drink, but some sources claim that sailors during World War II consumed actual aftershave because of its alcohol content. Whatever the case, the Aqua Velva was invented to mimic the bright blue color. It’s remained popular since the 1980s and was featured in the 2007 movie Zodiac.

The original is typically made with vodka, gin, blue curaçao, and Sprite, but I’ve found that much too sickly sweet. Here’s how to make an elevated spin on this cocktail:

• Vodka
• Gin
• Blue curaçao
• Simple syrup
• Lemon juice
• Soda water (or substitute sparkling lemonade for the last 3 ingredients)

Skip the Sprite

When I started tweaking the Aqua Velva cocktail, I tried it two ways: with Sprite, or a generic lemon lime soda, and with freshly squeezed lemon and sparkling water. Here’s what I found:

• Sprite results in a super sweet drink. It covers up the botanical notes in the gin and results in a cocktail that resembles an 80s dance club. That’s not a compliment.
• Lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water are a better combo. The result is something lighter, and the tangy notes from the lemon let the gin’s botanical notes shine through.
• Sparkling lemonade is nice, too. You can use store-bought or make homemade sparkling lemonade out of the 3 ingredients above.

All about blue curaçao

The most important ingredient of the Aqua Velva drink is the blue curaçao. This classy liqueur is what makes the cocktail bright blue. It’s easy to find at your local liquor store, and you can use it to mix up lots of other tasty blue drinks. Here’s a bit more info on your new favorite blue liqueur:

• Blue curaçao is an orange liqueur invented by Dutch settlers on the island of Curaçao. There are several colors of Curaçao. The most popular today are clear and blue, essentially the original dyed bright blue.
• Blue curaçao has been sold since 1912. It’s flavored with the Laraha orange peel, a type of orange that grows on the island, so it has a sweet orange peel flavor with a subtle bitter finish.
• Unsure how to pronounce it? Say it like this: Cure-ah-souw.
• Blue curaçao is inexpensive. A 750 ml bottle costs about $10. Try to buy a mid-range bottle like the Drillaud brand. (Avoid DeKuyper.)

How to make an Aqua Velva

The Aqua Velva is my ideal lazy drink because you can build it right in the glass! Here’s what to do:

• Stir: Pour all ingredients into a highball glass, with the soda water last. Add ice and stir.
• Garnish: Add a lemon wedge if desired.
• Pitcher style: If you’re serving a crowd, make a pitcher! I have instructions below on how to stir together a pitcher that makes 8 drinks.

More blue drinks to try

Love blue drinks? Growing up in the 1990s, these were the cocktails that really caught my eye when I was of age. Here are a few tasty blue curaçao drinks to try:

• Mix up a Blue Margarita with tequila.
• Try a tropical Blue Hawaii.
• Go for a Blue Long Island Iced Tea.
• Make a seriously simple Blue Lagoon.

Serving suggestions

The Aqua Velva drink is ideal for sipping in summer or warm weather, but it works anytime. Try it as a:

• Summer cocktail
• Happy hour drink
• Dinner party drink
• Late night drink
• Guys’ or girls’ night drink
• Cocktail hour drink

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