On top of being an iconic Jimmy Hendrix song, purple haze is a popular long drink, which seems to be originating from cocktail champion Peter Janson who named it after the song and gave it the matching color appearance. Sometimes also referred to as ‘purple rain’, the drink has many variants on top of a standard, “official” recipe. Looking for a purple drink for a Halloween-themed party, or just looking for the purple rain recipe that fits best your tastebuds? We researched the most popular variants for this very eye-catching energy drink for you and came up with this list of 6. You'll certainly find your favorite in there!

1. The “official” Purple Haze cocktail recipe: Curaçao + cranberry juice

This is by far the most popular variant referred to as the “original”, which you can find here for example. It keeps a nice clarity and you can adjust it to how purple-y you want it. 

Ingredients

• 1 measure vodka
• ½ measure blue Curaçao
• Top up with Cranberry juice
• Lemon slice for garnish
• Purple sugar to rim the edge of the glass

Directions

1. Take a collins glass and fill it with ice
2. Add the vodka, curacao and mix up to get a nice blue
3. Top up slowly with the cranberry juice until you get a purple color you like out of the mixing

2. Our favorite Purple Haze: Curaçao + grenadine syrup (it looks best!)

A really cool variant if you like the sweetness of the grenadine over the tartness of cranberry juice. Plus the purple is less “maroony” than with cranberry. And it allows for a really cool visual trick: mix up the Vodka, Curaçao, and sprite, and then add the grenadine, but don’t mix it up! The syrupy texture of the grenadine will look like lava going in and slowly settling at the bottom of the glass.

Ingredients

• 1 measure vodka
• 1 measure blue Curaçao
• 1 measure Grenadine syrup
• Top up with Sprite or lemonade
• Lemon slice for garnish
• Purple sugar to rim the edge of the glass

Directions

1. Take a collins glass and fill it with ice
2. Add the Vodka, Curaçao and mix up to get a nice blue
3. Slowly add the grenadine to create a lava cloud. Serve immediately.

3. The French Purple Haze Recipe (Blackberry variant)

Blackberry juice & blackberry liquor are naturally purple, so you don’t need the traditional mix of blue Curaçao with a red-colored juice. To obtain the typical bittersweetness, we use freshly pressed lime juice. Just like the grenadine variant, pour the cream last after having mixed the rest of the ingredients to get an awesome purple smoke visual effect. We’re calling it the French Purple Haze, as blackberry liquor is popular there (it’s called Crème de Mûre).

Ingredients

• 1.5 measure vodka
• 1 measure fresh lime juice
• 0.5 measure sugar syrup
• 0.5 measure blackberry liquor (or blackberry juice or black raspberry liqueur)
• Top up with Sprite or lemon-lime soda (no top up if you are making shots)
• A couple of fresh blackberries & mint leaves for garnish
• Purple sugar to rim the edge of the glass

Directions

1. Put the vodka, lemon juice and sugar syrup in the lower part of a shaker with ice
2. Adjust the top of the cocktail shaker and shake briskly for 4-6 seconds.
3. FOR SHOTS: Filter over the glass using an ice colander. Add the blackberry liquor slowly; it will settle at the bottom. Serve immediately.
   FOR LONG DRINKS: Pour from the shaker into a glass. Add cold sprite. Add the blackberry liquor slowly; it will settle at the bottom. Serve immediately with a couple fresh blackberries and a few fresh mint leaves.

4. Purple Haze Martini Recipe:

Here we’re replacing Curaçao with Hypnotiq for a more fruity flavor. And because it’s soo 2000’s. Since it doesn’t have the bitterness of the orange zest from Curaçao any longer, it’s called a Purple Haze Martini. Though there isn’t any actual Martini in it, don’t ask us why.

Ingredients

• 1 measure Vodka
• 1 measure Hypnotiq
• Top up with Sprite or lemonade
• Lemon slice for garnish
• Purple sugar to rim the edge of the glass

Directions:

• Identical to the first variant.

5. The Purple Rain Drink (Tom Dyer variant):

Most variants here are called the purple haze, but haze is nothing more than a light, annoying rain, right? So we’ll call this variant the purple rain and please the SEO gods with more semantic variants in this article. Tom Dyer prefers this version as it’s more citrusy, and the Rum definitely adds a twist to the original recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 measure White Rum
• 1 measure Vodka
• 1 measure blue Curaçao
• 1.5 measure freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.75 measure Grenadine syrup
• Top up with Sprite or lemonade
• Lemon slice/wedge for garnish
• Purple sugar to rim the edge of the glass

Directions:

1. Mix up the Vodka, Rum and Curaçao straight into the glass
2. Press and add the lemon juice, stir up
3. Add the grenadine and ice
4. Shake and top up with the lemonade

6. Purple People Eater variant

While it’s not called purple haze/rain, this is technically another variant of the iconic drink with just 1 ingredient added: sweet and sour mix. This version makes a fantastic Halloween cocktail for themed parties!

Ingredients

• 1.5 measure Vodka
• 1 measure blue Curaçao
• 1 measure Sweet & Sour Mix
• 1 measure Grenadine
• 1 measure cranberry juice or grape juice
• Lemon slice/wedge for garnish
• Purple sugar to rim the edge of the glass

Directions:

1. Use purple sugar to rim the edges of the serving glass. Set aside.
2. In an ice filled glass pour the Vodka, Sweet & Sour Mix, Curaçao, grenadine and cranberry juice. Shake
3. Fill the serving glass with ice and pour over the mix.
4. Garnish with a lemon wedge

FAQ

More tried & tested drink recipes

• Lemonade mint julep
• Bourbon cider sours
• Honey bear