How can something so blue be orange? (Bols Blue)

Member Name: norton501

Product:	Bols Blue
Date:	11/08/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fizzy legs

Disadvantages: blue teeth

Bols blue was my drink of choice before I moved onto Absinthe. There are absolutely no similarities between these two drinks, except when served they both look pretty.

Blue Bols is a very old liquer. It originates in Holland and is made from sweet red oranges and "herbs". It is 21% Alcohol (ABV) and is served mixed iwth lemonade. Don't let the word "Liquer" put you off as it does not taste like alcohol- it is quite dangerous but lovely in this respect!

I drank quite a lot of "Blue Bols" (as it is more commonly known) whilst I was a student and for several years afterwards. It is quite hard to find in bars (not as hard as decent absinthe!!) but where they do sell it, most bars have it in their tills as the same price as a shot of vodka. You will have to point at the blue bottle as most bar staff won't have a clue when you ask for this. "Blue bols" ; "blue what? " "blue what?" "bols?" "What?" ...

The thing with this drink is it has almost no taste. It if bright (I mean BRIGHT) blue, it is supposed (I can't believe this although it has it written on the bottle) to be ORANGE flavoured (how can something so blue be orange???) but when you mix it (same as a vodka) with lemonade, it tastes of lemonade. In an old fashioned lemonade way. Lemonade with benefits.

I found after a few drinks the downside is your tongue goes blue and your teeth and after a few more you get blue smile lines appearing up the corners of your mouth ... Expect people to come up to you asking "WHAT are you drinking?" as it looks like there should be smoke rising off your glass. This was the appeal of drinking this for me- 1: it does not taste like alcohol at ALL; 2: it is unusual so it captured my attention.

A bottle of "Bols Blue" or "Blue curacao" can be bought in ASDA, TESCOs and most supermarkets and offlicenses for around £11. A bottle will last you a decent length of time unless you want a really blue mouth, tongue and teeth and drink a lot of it. If you do, you will be trying to clean the blue off your teeth and tongue for days.

I find the only noticeable effect it has physically (apart from the blue mouth and teeth) is you get a weird feeling in your legs after about 4 or 5 drinks. It is odd, like your legs are drunk but you aren't. It is quite pleasant, subtle and different! .

Overall, I find it a one off drink in a bar as any more than a few of these and really you will start to have people staring at you as if you have bitten into a cartridge of blue ink and its burst in your mouth.

Summary: Try it! Its been around for a few hundred years. Its very pretty.