藍色雞尾酒跟1970年代和1980年代的迪斯科甜味酒飲脫不了干系——檸檬水、分層和酸味劑。但實際上它們的歷史要比這長得多，而且正在迎來一個嶄新的篇章。波士在上世紀之交已經開始生產藍色利口酒，甚至連手工調酒師圣經《薩伏伊雞尾酒手冊》（1930）都收錄了多款藍色雞尾酒，其中包括藍色火車（基本上是加了點顏色的白色佳人，配方為50ml金酒、25ml檸檬汁、25ml橙皮利口酒和少許藍色食用色素）。不過，盡管調酒師們早就懂得了藍色酒飲的吸引力，可到了現代調酒黃金年代，眼光敏銳的調酒師無疑不再青睞藍色原料了。我們忙著重新發現馬提內、花花公子和遺言等雞尾酒，輕浮和廉價利口酒被放逐到了酒架深處——取而代之的是苦精、黑麥威士忌和味美思。這個現代黃金年代還井噴式地產生了大量調酒大賽，因為品牌爭先恐后地想要贏得新一代調酒師的忠誠度。42緯之下雞尾酒世界杯是其中最激烈的大賽之一，決賽在新西蘭皇后鎮舉行，而藍色雞尾酒正是在這里得到了重生——多虧了品牌大使和大賽策劃人Jacob Briars。

Blue cocktails are inescapably linked with the sweet disco drinks of the 1970s and 1980s – with lemonade, layering and sour mix. But in fact they have a much longer history and are in the process of writing themselves a whole new chapter. Bols was producing blue liqueurs at the turn of the last century, and even craft bartender’s bible The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) has its share of blue drinks, including the Blue Train (essentially a White Lady with a dash of colour: 50ml gin, 25ml lemon, 25ml triple sec, 1 dash of blue food colouring). But while barkeeps have long appreciated the appeal of a blue drink, fast forward to the start of the modern golden age and blue was definitely not an ingredient of choice for the discerning mixologist. At a time when we were rediscovering the Martinez, the Boulevardier and the Last Word, frivolity and cheap liqueurs were banished from the back bar – to be replaced with bitters, rye and vermouth. This modern golden age also heralded an explosion of cocktail competitions as brands wrestled for the loyalty of the new generation of bartenders. One of the most keenly fought was the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup, with its finals held in Queenstown, New Zealand, and it’s here that the blue drink was reborn, courtesy of then brand ambassador and competition mastermind Jacob Briars.

Briars認為是三個因素組成的完美風暴造就了藍色雞尾酒復興。首先，他擁有充裕的藍色。“泰國參賽隊在電郵中犯了個錯誤，把他們要的兩瓶藍橙皮利口酒寫成了兩箱。等來到決賽地點并見過評委之后，他們發現藍色雞尾酒并不適用。”于是，他的儲藏室堆滿了靈感和存貨，靜待屬于他自己的藍色雞尾酒頓悟出現。然后是Briars對雞尾酒界狂妄態度的失望。“它已經到了凡事都有太多條條框框的地步——雞尾酒都是味苦、棕色和攪拌而成的；你不能用伏特加等等。我坐在那兒想，像Dale DeGroff這樣的大師苦心孤詣，就是為了讓我們得到今天這個結果嗎？當然不是。”最后一個因素是他的前同事Dean Callan——他最近買了一本Ted Haigh撰寫的《古老烈酒與被遺忘的雞尾酒》（2004）。“我們每去一家酒吧，他都會著魔似得點一杯僵尸復活2號，讓我覺得有點煩。于是有一個晚上，我做了一杯僵尸復活藍色號，目的是諷刺那些復古雞尾酒，一切就這么開始了。”

Briars recounts a perfect storm of three factors that lead to his championing of the blue cocktail. First, he had an abundance of blue. “Due to an email error, the team from Thailand had requested two cases of blue curacao instead of two bottles. Having arrived at the event and seen the judges, they realised that blue drinks weren’t going to work.” His storeroom was therefore full of inspiration – and stock – when his own blue epiphany came. The second factor was Briars’ frustration with the pretentiousness that had entered the cocktail world. “It had got to the stage where there were so many rules – everything was bitter, brown and stirred; you couldn’t have vodka, etc. I was sitting there thinking, was this what people like Dale DeGroff had worked so hard to give us? And of course it wasn’t.” The final trigger was former colleague Dean Callan, who had recently acquired a copy of Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (2004). “He was obsessively ordering Corpse Reviver #2s in every bar we went into, and it was getting annoying. So one night I just made a Corpse Reviver #Blue to lampoon the seriousness of these vintage drinks, and it grew from there.”

身為國際品牌大使，Briars有許多機會去傳播自己的觀點。他在全世界最好的酒吧點用藍色雞尾酒，而且很快就跟志同道合的倡導者們建立起了同盟，包括倫敦的Gregor de Gruyther（藍色瑪格麗特創作者）、紐約市的Naren Young（迪斯科菲茲創作者，這是一款銀色伏特加菲茲，使用了少許藍橙皮利口酒）和墨爾本的Jason Williams（他在Sweatshop的酒單上注明“加50分澳元即可將任何酒飲升級為藍色”）。“我們都想制作出色的雞尾酒，但他們不一定都是棕色和苦中帶甜的。這是對它的平衡。”事實上，Briars覺得手工調酒師正在疏遠他們的客人：“我認為調酒師提倡的和客人想要的之間有著越來越大的差距，而藍色雞尾酒能夠很好地填補這一差距。”

As an international brand ambassador, Briars was well placed to spread his message, ordering blue drinks in the world’s best bars and quickly building up an alliance of like-minded advocates, including Gregor de Gruyther (in London, making blue margaritas), Naren Young (in NYC, the Disco Fizz – a silver vodka fizz with a dash of blue curacao) and Jason Williams, who offered to “upgrade any drink to blue for 50c” on the menu at Sweatshop in Melbourne. “We all wanted to make great drinks, but they didn’t all have to be brown and bittersweet. It was a counterweight to that.” Indeed Briars felt that craft bartenders were losing touch with their guests: “Blue drinks are perfect for whenever I see that gap between what bartenders are pushing and what customers want getting too great.”

從第一批僵尸復活藍色號誕生到現在已經有八年了，藍色雞尾酒受到了越來越多的媒體報道，獲獎級酒吧和調酒師也開始擁抱這一風格，從提供鯊魚雞尾酒的紐約PDT到提供珍珠奶茶藍色珊瑚礁的倫敦Artesian。“它作為調酒師之間的某種玩笑已經存在了多年，但在過去一兩年突然達到了臨界點，藍色雞尾酒正在占據各個酒吧。我認為它向客人表明了你的調酒技術十分過硬，所以你才有信心供應藍色雞尾酒。”Briars嘗試了許多不同的藍橙皮利口酒品牌和讓雞尾酒變色的其他方法，甚至跟澳大利亞一家小酒廠合作生產定制品牌。但歸根到底，他還是建議任何標準藍橙皮利口酒都可以使用。“問題之一是柑橘水果會破壞大部分天然藍色素——它們往往會呈現出灰色。它真的很難處理。”他還指出，即使你認為天然色素更多的那些利口酒也含有固定劑和人造色素，以保持它們的穩定性。“幾乎所有利口酒都添加了色素，就我所知不含任何人造色素的產品只有查特酒和圣哲曼接骨木花利口酒。所以，老老實實地說你是染成藍色的有什么不好呢？”

Eight years on from those first repainted Corpse Revivers, and blue drinks are getting more and more press, embraced by award-winning bars and bartenders from PDT in New York (with its drink The Shark) to The Artesian in London (with the Bubble Tea Blue Lagoon). “It crept along for years as a sort of bartender in-joke, but all of a sudden it has reached a tipping point in the last year or two and blue drinks are cropping up all over the place. I think what it indicates to your guests is that the quality of your bartending is so robust that you have the confidence to offer blue drinks.” Briars has tried many different curacao brands and other ways of colouring drinks, even working with a small Australian distiller to produce a bespoke brand. But when it comes down to it, he recommends any standard blue curacao. “Part of the problem is that citrus kills most natural blue colours – they often come out grey. It’s just very difficult to do.” He also adds that even those liqueurs you think of as having more natural colours contain fixatives and artificial colourings to keep them stable. “Almost all liqueurs have something added to colour them – the only two I know that don’t are Chartreuse and St-Germain elderflower liqueur. So what’s the difference with just being honest and saying that you’ve dyed it blue?”

即使在藍色雞尾酒的世界里也有指導方針。“最好的雞尾酒中的藍色應該是能夠把你牢牢吸引住的。是的，藍色原料具有挑戰性，但是別擔心，這是一個安全區域。”Briars說。僵尸復活藍色號采用的是利萊和苦艾酒，這兩者對當時的客人來說都屬于新事物。PDT的鯊魚雞尾酒采用了超烈朗姆酒（原料包括黃油泡朗姆酒、超烈朗姆酒、檸檬、菠蘿、榛果麗、提基苦精、奶油，還有藍橙皮利口酒）。紐約市Porchlight酒吧的炮銅藍色則使用了梅斯卡爾——特基拉的煙熏味近親。“這些作品的成功在于它們的風味跳出了藍色雞尾酒的窠臼。出人意料的藍色雞尾酒是最好的。”Briars還表示，Tony Conigliaro在創作（非藍色）雞尾酒時采取的是類似方法。“Tony的準則是‘用簡單方式呈現不尋常的原料，用不尋常的方式呈現簡單原料 ’，我認為這非常明智。對我們來說，關鍵在于用藍色引導人們進入酒飲新世界。”一款做成藍色、味甜易飲的雞尾酒起不到作用——太媚俗了。

Even in the world of blue cocktails, there are guidelines. “The best drinks are the ones where the blue is supposed to draw you in. Yes there’s a challenging ingredient here, but don’t worry, the water’s safe,” says Briars. In the case of the Corpse Reviver #Blue it was Lillet and absinthe, both new to drinkers at that time. With PDT’s Shark, it’s overproof rum (the drink contains butter-washed rum, overproof rum, lemon, pineapple, Frangelico, tiki bitters, cream – and blue curacao). In the Gun Metal Blue (Porchlight, NYC), it’s mezcal – tequila’s smoky relative. “The success of these drinks is that you don’t expect these flavours from a drink that’s blue. It works best when it’s a surprise.” Briars also cites Tony Conigliaro as someone who has a similar approach with his (non-blue) creations. “I think Tony’s mantra of ‘Unusual ingredients served in simple ways, simple ingredients served in unusual ways’ is very clever. For us, it’s about using blue to hold people’s hand into new drinks.” A sweet and approachable drink made blue just wouldn’t work – too kitsch.

所以，下次你在調制一款無色經典或者考慮向客人推薦什么的時候，不妨拿起那瓶藍橙皮利口酒。正如Briars最后所說：“每次你給別人送上一杯藍色酒飲，他們都會微笑。你會看到他們的眼睛為之一亮，好像在說‘謝謝你，這杯酒看上去有趣極了。’”

So when you’re next making a colourless classic or deciding what to devise for a guest, perhaps consider that bottle of blue curacao. As Briars concludes, “Whenever you put a blue drink in front of someone they smile. You can see their eyes light up, as if to say, ‘Thank you, that’s a drink that looks like a lot of fun.’”

1. 僵尸復活藍色號 / Corpse Reviver #Blue

Jacob Briars創作，2007 /  By Jacob Briars, 2007

僵尸復活藍色號一開始只是想諷刺現代人對經典雞尾酒配方的癡迷，后來在調酒界流傳開來，成為了一款名副其實的現代經典。Briars將這款酒的成功歸因于它本身的簡單（只是把經典配方的一款原料換掉——“你不可能把它搞砸”），以及嚴肅原料和輕松外觀的結合。

Originally a sarcastic response to our modern obsession with classic cocktail recipes, the Corpse Reviver Number #Blue has since spread around the bartending community and become a modern classic in its own right. Briars puts its success down to the simplicity of the drink (just switching one ingredient from the classic – “you can’t mess it up”), and the combination of serious ingredients with a light-hearted appearance.

·25ml 孟買藍寶石金酒 / Bombay Sapphire gin

·25ml 利萊白利口酒 / Lillet Blanc

·25ml 藍橙皮利口酒 / Blue curacao

·25ml 檸檬汁 / Lemon juice

·1滴 苦艾酒 / 1ds Absinthe

充分搖勻后濾入冰過的雞尾酒杯，以檸檬皮裝飾。

Shake well, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon zest.

2. 炮銅藍色 / Gun Metal Blue

Mike Shain與Nicholas Bennett創作，紐約市Porchlight，2015 / By Mike Shain and Nicholas Bennett, Porchlight, NYC, 2015

炮銅藍色是一款完美的入門級藍色雞尾酒。它看上去像甜甜的迪斯科酒飲，但卻以優雅的高腳碟形杯盛放，口感強勁復雜，帶煙熏味。嚴肅雞尾酒和活潑品相的絕妙結合。

The Gun Metal Blue is the epitome of a blue gateway drink. It looks like a sweet disco drink, but is served in a long-stemmed, elegant coup glass and is strong, smoky and complex. A wonderful juxtaposition of serious cocktail and frivolous presentation.

·45ml 維達梅斯卡爾 / Vida mezcal

·20ml 新鮮青檸汁 / Fresh lime juice

·15ml 藍橙皮利口酒 / Blue curacao

·10ml 孔比耶桃子利口酒 / Combier creme de peche

·10ml 苦肉桂糖漿（自制，苦味來自添加的龍膽根）/ Bitter cinnamon syrup (made in house with gentian added for bitterness)

將梅斯卡爾、青檸汁、藍橙皮利口酒、桃子利口酒和肉桂糖漿加冰搖勻。濾入碟形杯，以橙皮卷裝飾。

Shake the mezcal, lime juice, curacao, peach liqueur and cinnamon syrup with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with an orange twist.

3. 藍寶石鉆戒 / Diamond Blue

Charlotte Voisey創作，2011 / By Charlotte Voisey, 2011

這款來自Charlotte Voisey（威廉父子公司調酒大師）的雞尾酒是為了慶祝威廉王子和凱特·米德爾頓的婚禮而特別創作。藍色靈感來自凱特的藍寶石訂婚戒指，這枚戒指曾經屬于戴安娜王妃。

This drink was created by Charlotte Voisey (company mixologist for William Grant & Sons) to commemorate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The blue was inspired by Kate’s sapphire engagement ring, which previously belonged to Princess Diana.

·20ml 亨利爵士金酒 / Hendrick’s gin

·20ml 紫羅蘭利口酒 / Creme de violette

·10ml 藍橙皮利口酒 / Blue curacao

用1枚青檸瓣榨取的汁 / Juice from 1 lemon wedge

用來加滿的香檳 / Champagne to top

將除了香檳之外的所有原料加冰攪勻。濾入細長型香檳杯，加滿香檳，以少許可食用的銀箔（通常用于裝飾蛋糕）裝飾。

Stir all the ingredients except the champagne over ice. Strain into a flute, top with the champagne and garnish with a light dusting of edible silver glitter (normally used for decorating cakes).

4. 洗衣日藍調 / Washday Blues

Julian de Feral創作，2012 / By Julian de Feral, 2012

戈吉斯集團顧問de Feral為英國曼切斯特希爾頓酒店的云23酒吧創作了這款酒，目的是讓客人們更多地嘗試雪莉酒和金酒——前面我們說過用藍色雞尾酒來引導人們嘗試他們不會想到的原料，而這又是一個很好的例子。這款酒的名字源自曼切斯特的“洗衣日”：在這個日子里，城中各個角落的居民都把洗過的衣服掛出來曬干。用來搭配酒的跳跳糖聽起來就像雨點打在窗格上——因為洗衣日總是會下雨！

De Feral, a consultant with Gorgeous Group, created this for the Cloud 23 bar in the Hilton Manchester, UK, to get customers to try more sherry and gin – so another example of blue drinks introducing people to ingredients they would otherwise avoid. The name relates to Manchester’s “wash days”, when people across the city would all hang out their clothes to dry. When added to the drink, the popping candy garnish sounds like rain hitting a window pane – because it always rains on wash days!

·50ml 添加利金酒 / Tanqueray gin

·10ml 蜂蜜調酒（2:1）/ Honey syrup (2:1)

·10ml 藍橙皮利口酒 / Blue curacao

·10ml 緹歐佩佩菲諾雪莉酒 / Tio Pepe fino sherry

·10ml 檸檬汁 / Lemon juice

·2滴 蒲公英與牛蒡苦精 / 2ds Dandelion & Burdock bitters

用來加滿的蘇打水 / Soda to top

將除了蘇打水之外的所有原料搖勻，濾入裝滿新鮮冰的高球杯，加滿蘇打水，以一片黃瓜裝飾（切成云的形狀）。上桌時搭配一小管跳跳糖