This easy cocktail recipe for a purple rain cocktail is sure to please all the Prince fans in your life. This fruity drink is made with common bar ingredients; vodka, blue curacao, and grenadine mixed with cranberry, pineapple, and lime juices. Did I mention it’s gorgeous too?
This purple rain cocktail is so delicious and easy to make! Of course, a lot of people posted a Purple Rain cocktail as soon as Prince died, but I wanted to wait because I can be contrary like that.
Ask Christopher. He could tell you.
Dedicated to my sister Nancy
I lost one of my sisters to breast cancer over a decade ago. I can’t believe it has been that long. Nancy was 41 at the time of her death and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. The reason I bring this up now is not only did she love the color purple, she also would have LOVED this cocktail. I never had a chance to make it for her. So, this post is for her! Oh, and for Prince, too.
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How to make the purple rain cocktail
Pre-step
Get your cocktail shaker and fill it halfway with ice. Get a measuring glass and glassware.
After measuring out the ingredients, pour them into the shaker.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – vodka, blue Curacao, cranberry juice, pineapple juice and lime.
Step two
Measure 2 ounces vodka. (1)
Step three
Measure 1 ounce blue Curacao. (2)
Step four
Measure 1 ounce cranberry juice. (3)
The color of the cocktail is now becoming more purple.
Step five
Measure 1 ounce pineapple juice. (1-below)
Step six
Measure ¾ ounce grenadine. (2-above)
Step seven
Measure ½ ounce lime juice. (3-above)
Step eight
Cap the shaker and shake for 30 seconds.
Step nine
Add extra ice cubes in the glass and pour the contents in a Tom Collins glass. See the recipe card below for two variations to this recipe.
I’ve pictured the three different ways I’ve mixed the Purple Rain. The front cocktail in the tall glass is the main recipe below.
Look at the deep purple color. YUM!! Notice that by the ice cubes the cocktail looks almost teal, but below the cubes, it’s a nice deep purple.
For a deeper purple color pictured in the double old fashioned glass below, use a full ounce of grenadine, as I call for in the two variations below.
This third variation, pictured in the martini glass, looks almost black. That’s because I left out the lime juice. I wanted to see if there was a taste difference. There is but it’s so slight, you probably won’t miss it.
Which one of these purple rain cocktail variations do I prefer? I can’t play favorites! They are my “babies”!
Other popular blue Curacao recipes
I hope you enjoyed this recipe. I enjoyed drinking it! 🙂
And as always, may all your dishes/drinks be delish!
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
Purple Rain Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Grey Goose vodka
- 1 ounce Blue Curacao
- 1 ounce cranberry juice
- 1 ounce pineapple juice
- ¾ ounce Grenadine
- ½ ounce lime juice ½ lime
Instructions
- Fill your shaker ½ way with ice
- Add the vodka, Blue Curacao, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, grenadine and lime juice2 ounces Grey Goose vodka, 1 ounce Blue Curacao, 1 ounce cranberry juice, 1 ounce pineapple juice, ¾ ounce Grenadine, ½ ounce lime juice
- Cap shaker and shake 10 times
- Pour into a tall glass, I used a collins glass
- Lift glass
- Sip
- Sing Purple Rain song
- Smile
- Enjoy
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce blue curacao
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce grenadine
½ ounce fresh lime juice Variation #2 – martini glass
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce blue curacao
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce grenadine
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published June 3, 2016. All process shots are from the original post.
Joyce
My friend used to love Prince! Fun cocktail!
Elaine
Thanks Joyce 🙂
georgie
what a great cocktail! the colour is beautiful love it!
Elaine
Thanks Georgie! And it’s really tasty!
Ginny McMeans
What a beautiful cocktail and it uses absolutely all of my favorites!
Elaine
Thanks Ginny! I appreciate your comment!
Kristi
Love the color and I bet it tastes delicious too. Also gorgeous photos of the drinks!
Elaine
Thank you Kristi! 🙂
Alina | Cooking Journey Blog
Oh, purple cocktail looks mysterious! I love your instructions 5-9, haha! Cheers!
Elaine
Doesn’t it Alina? And hehe. Thanks! Cheers!
Annie @ Annie's Noms
Ooooh I love this!! The colour is mesmerising! I love that you made this for your sister, it’s always hard losing someone and I don’t know… for me it doesn’t seem to matter how much time passes, I still find it incredibly difficult. I mean it’s easier to get through the day to day, but I rarely go long without thinking of someone I’ve lost and it’s still painful if I give it any kind of thought. I do enjoy making and doing things that I know they would have loved though, it makes me feel a little closer to them 🙂
Elaine
Thanks so much Annie! And thanks for relaying your experience. It’s nice to see that I’m not alone! 🙂
Chris
What a fun cocktail! And the photos are gorgeous. Well done. (Now, how about a Singing in the Purple Rain cocktail?)
Elaine
Hehe. Wheels are turning in the head!
Patty
I love all the flavors in this cocktail and I think this one again will go on top of my favorite cocktails of yours, cheers! So so sad for your sister Lainey, she was so young…
Elaine
Thanks Patty! I appreciate it!
Denise Johnson
Great drink. I work at an Elks Lodge this was something very different for everyone. They have to get out the box this drink did it. Thank you for the recipe.
Elaine
How fun, Denise! I’m glad you/they liked it. It was one of my sister’s favorites!
Tolanda
This looks delicious! I’m searching for a purple signature drink for my 50th birthday party and this fits the bill. Is there any way to make this in batches to be self-served by my guests?
Elaine
I’ve never made it in a big batch, but I bet it could be done. I would perhaps not put a full egg whiter per drink though, try 1 for every 2 cocktails. So if you are making enough for 10 people, just use 5 whites as it’s going to sit for a bit. Hope that makes sense.