Into the blue: Lucas Bols
Lucas Bols raises the game for blue drinks behind the bar with its award-winning Bols Blue 1575 liqueur.
In today’s age of social media and visual gratification, blue cocktails have stepped back into the limelight, but with a caveat: craftsmanship.
“Blue drinks always received attention, but with the right flavour and craftsmanship, they have suddenly become sophisticated,” notes Ivar de Lange, the global education and engagement director at Lucas Bols. The Amsterdam-based spirits producer has been at the forefront of cocktail culture for more than 450 years, celebrating passing that historic milestone in April 2025. In tandem with the anniversary celebrations was the unveiling of the company’s revamped Bols Blue 1575 liqueur.
“We wanted to create a blue liqueur bartenders would be proud to use,” says Monique ten Kortenaar, the company’s master distiller. This would mean making a few alterations to original blue curaçao liqueur from 1912 to meet the requirements of the modern bar.
With the addition of a spiced rum blend, the reinvented recipe evolves past the usual citrus-centric style of blue curaçaos, creating a richer and more distinctive flavour. It is made with Laraha orange – the historic Curaçao citrus – then layered with botanicals such as cardamom for subtle spice, grains of paradise for a peppery lift, and vanilla for soft, rounded sweetness. Rum brings structure and depth, while the botanicals are macerated like a tea to create a flavour profile that is as complex as it is vibrant.
The liqueur still sports that eye-catching shade of tropical blue and reminds drinkers of holidays, but Bols Blue 1575 is also built for modern cocktail culture. At 29.5% ABV, it can match up with stronger spirits and also shine in all sorts of serves and styles – from a Blue Spritz to a Margarita Azul, a rum-based remix on one of the world’s top-selling cocktails.
The use of rum as the base also gives old favourites like the Blue Hawaii a premium feel, something in demand with today’s drinkers, while enabling Bols Blue to play into classic rum cocktails like Blue Daiquiris, Blue Mojitos and Blue Mai Tais.
Lucas Bols cites feedback from a bartender: “It behaves like no other blue liqueur – finally a blue that works in serious cocktails.”
The idea of premiumisation extends to the bottle too. Special care has also been paid to updating the Bols Blue design, which is drum-inspired and made from 50% recycled glass. The revamped bottle won a Master medal at The Spirits Business’ Design & Packaging Masters 2025, the competition’s top honour. Bols Blue now carries a recognition for not only being best in class, but as a benchmark for the new premium wave of blue cocktails and drinks.
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