Het Purple Rain recept
voor jouw tafel
Fill a highball glass to the brim with ice cubes.
Pour the vodka and blue curaçao over the ice and top up with chilled lemon soda.
Slowly pour the grenadine down the side; it sinks to the bottom and colors the lower part purple.
Garnish with a lime wheel. Stir only if you want the color to become even.
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The story
Prince released Purple Rain in 1984, and within a few years, a cocktail of the same name had appeared on menus in half the world. Unlike the classics, no bar claims to have invented it, and no recipe is considered the original. You’ll find versions with vodka, gin, berry liqueur, and blackberry syrup. What they have in common is the starting point: the color first, the flavor second. That sounds like criticism, but it isn’t; this cocktail is made for the table where everyone reaches for their phone as soon as it’s set down, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The right glass
You have to see this cocktail, so the glass is not a minor detail here. Choose a tall, narrow and completely clear highball glass of 33 to 47 cl: the narrow shape makes the transition from deep purple to light blue sharper than a wide glass that spreads out the colors. Tinted glass is out of the question, and faceted glass disrupts the gradient. A thin glass with a thick base gives you the best of both worlds: clear presentation and stability on the table.
Onis Icon Highball Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Arcoroc Islande Highball Glass 33 cl (6 pieces)
Twelve highball glasses together € 51,90.
The right tools
For a Purple Rain, in addition to the glass, you use a long bar spoon, a jigger for precise measuring and long ice rods. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 3 bar tools together € 79,80.
What do you make a Purple Rain with?
For a Purple Rain, you need the right base. Well-known bottles include Kleiner Feigling and Puschkin. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Replace the grenadine with cranberry juice for a less sweet, more grown-up version, or use blackberry or elderberry liqueur to get purple without artificial ingredients. Using prosecco instead of lemonade turns it into a festive spritz. Leave out the vodka and you have a mocktail children love. Want the same trick, but in blue? See the Blue Lagoon. Find more inspiration in all cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
The color depends entirely on the dosage: too much grenadine and you get red, too little and it stays blue. Start with 1.5 cl and add half a centiliter if necessary. Use clear white lemon soda, not cloudy soda, as that makes the purple look dull. And pour the grenadine very slowly: the more gently you pour, the sharper the separation between the layers remains.
Good to know
Choosing grenadine and mixer
Every Purple Rain cocktail recipe includes grenadine, but the bottles vary greatly: originally, grenadine is pomegranate syrup, while many supermarket bottles are mainly sugar syrup with coloring. Grenadine made with real pomegranate juice tastes fuller and less flatly sweet, which is immediately noticeable here because there is little other flavor in the glass. Your choice of mixer also matters: lemon soda keeps it straightforwardly sweet, while bitter lemon adds a slightly bitter edge from the quinine that balances the sweetness.
Purple Rain drink for a group
At a party, you do not serve the Purple Rain cocktail one at a time, but making the whole batch in advance does not work either. Mix 4 cl vodka and 2 cl blue curaçao per person in a jug and chill it; keep the lemonade and grenadine separate. When serving, fill each glass with ice, pour the blue mixture over it, top up with 10 cl chilled lemon soda, and only then let 1.5 cl grenadine slide down the side. If you mix in the grenadine beforehand, everything will turn uniformly purple and the gradient will disappear.
Frequently asked questions
Which glass do you use for a Purple Rain?
A tall, clear highball glass of 33 to 47 cl. View our highball glasses.
How do you make it truly purple?
Blue plus red makes purple: blue curaçao for the blue, grenadine for the red. The ratio determines the shade. More grenadine gives reddish purple, less gives bluish purple.
Can it be made without blue curaçao?
Yes: blackberry liqueur, elderberry syrup, or blackcurrant syrup provide a natural purple color without food coloring. The flavor will be fuller and less citrusy, though.
Can you make a Purple Rain alcohol-free?
Yes: leave out the vodka and use blue syrup instead of blue curaçao. The color and effect remain completely intact. This is one of the easiest cocktails to serve alcohol-free.
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