Magical Butterfly Pea Alcohol – Blue Gin or Vodka

Course: Butterfly Pea, Infused alcohol

Servings: g 40% alcohol

Author: Christel Parby

Want to make the perfect blue gin or vodka – beautiful in colour and without bitterness?

I have experimented (and made all the mistakes) so you can create a spirit that’s just as gorgeous in the glass as it is fun to serve.

Here’s the shortcut to blue gin and vodka that changes colour when you mix it — pure magic!

Enter the weight of your alcohol in the recipe calculator below to find the recommended amount of dried butterfly pea flowers.

(Example: 70 cl gin 40 % = approx. 665 g → 1.25 g flowers)

Digital kitchen scale - that can display decimals
Large preserving jar with lid or Kilner jar – scalded and cooled
Metal sieve
Coffee filter (metal or paper) – or a piece of fine‑meshed fabric
Funnel – scalded and cooled
Glass bottles with airtight lids – scalded and cooled (if you’re reusing the original alcohol bottle, no need to scald)
labels – optional

665  g 40 % alcohol – e.g. Beefeater Gin or Absolut Vodka – choose a neutral spirit you enjoy the taste of
1.25  g dried butterfly pea flowers

Scald and cool your large preserving jar and the funnel for later.
If using the alcohol’s original bottle, there’s no need to scald it – but if using other bottles, scald them now so they have time to cool.

Place the cooled jar on your scale and reset to zero.
Pour in your gin or vodka and weigh.
Note: 70 cl spirit typically weighs between 664 g and 667 g, depending on ABV.

Use the plugin to calculate how many grams of dried butterfly pea flowers you need based on your spirit’s weight.
For 70 cl of 40 % alcohol, you’ll need 1.2–1.3 g – more isn’t necessarily better (see main text).

Add the flowers to the alcohol, sealing the lid tightly.
Invert the jar gently a couple of times.
Leave the alcohol and flowers to infuse at room temperature – preferably out of direct sunlight.

Infuse for approx. 2–2½ hours at room temperature.
- Gin contains more botanicals than vodka, so it will start developing a dark blue‑purple tone after around 2½ hours.
- Vodka, being purer, stays bright blue for longer – you can leave it up to 3 hours.

Do not over‑steep.
Watch the colour as it develops – when it’s as deep blue as you want, it’s time to strain, even if only 1½–2 hours have passed.
A more prolonged infusion won’t improve the colour; instead, it can turn it a dark blue‑purple and add slight bitterness from the tannins in the petals.

Place the scalded, cooled funnel into a suitable bottle (dark glass if possible).
Fit a (metal) coffee filter into the funnel and position a sieve above it to catch the petals.
It’s quicker if only the infused spirit passes through the filter.
Tip: Moisten the filter first with a bit of alcohol so it doesn’t absorb as much of your blue gin or vodka.

See the main text for more tips.

Bruger du US Customary, vær opmærksom på, at opskriften er lavet metrisk, og omregnet via et plugin.

If you use US Customary, remember that the recipe is made using Metric and converted via a plugin.