Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Vodka Cocktails

Blue Steele Slushie

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Liquor.com
Liquor.com

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Updated 12/26/21
frozen, blue-hued Blue Steele Slushie in a rocks glass
Image:

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Football and beer are one of life’s great duos, right up there with football and wings. And football and nachos. But the sport allows for more liquid refreshments than just beer, so for the 2016 football season, a bartender from each NFL team’s hometown provided the perfect cocktail to represent their team. Garrett Smith, formerly of Indianapolis’ Spoke & Steele inside the LeMeridien hotel, created the Blue Steele Slushie, a preferred cocktail of faithful Colts fans.

Spoke & Steele doles out this electric-blue drink from a slushie machine. It features vodka, blue curaçao, fresh lemon juice, spiced simple syrup, plum bitters and a couple dashes of saline solution. It’s fun, festive and refreshing—everything you want during a game. The spiced simple syrup includes a cinnamon stick, whole cloves, nutmeg and lemon peel, while the saline is easy to recreate by mixing equal parts salt and water. And if you can’t find plum bitters, Angostura orange bitters will do nicely in a pinch.

Throw the ingredients into a blender, and you’re just seconds away from enjoying a Blue Steele Slushie during a Colts game or whenever you want an icy blue drink. It tastes just as good during a January playoff run as it does poolside during summer.

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Effen vodka

  • 1/2 ounce blue curaçao

  • 1 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

  • 1/2 ounce spiced simple syrup*

  • 2 dashes plum bitters (or Angostura orange bitters)

  • 2 dashes saline solution (1:1 salt:water)

Steps

  1. Add the vodka, blue curaçao, lemon juice, spiced simple syrup, bitters and saline solution into a blender with 3/4 cup of ice and blend until smooth.

  2. Pour into a rocks glass.

*Spiced simple syrup: Add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves, freshly grated nutmeg and a couple of pieces of lemon peel to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature, and strain. Store unused syrup in a sealed container in the fridge.