Bleeding Blue!

World cup fever is officially in the air! From the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy 'De Ghuma ke' jingle to Pepsi's doosras & palti shots, to the 6 new World Cup chips flavours, February beckons the largest cricketing event to be staged in the sub-continent. By no means, a small task.

What is staggering though is the scale of its importance to the cricket playing nations. With the fixtures and schedules known, teams are in full preparation. Extra practice sessions, rigorous fielding drills, hours of strategic planning, are the main work outs for all the teams.

For some like Sachin, Muralitharan, Ponting, Kallis, this is their last chance for a shot at the most prized tournament in the cricketing world. With just one shot remaining in their artillery, expect nothing less than a powerful explosion. They will be ready to stretch their body, twitch their muscles and rub off some wounds to lay their hands in the coveted World Cup trophy. Remember, wounded dogs bite stronger.

As for me, I’m all set to watch the match (even though it’s a working day) at office. The action will continue late into the evening as our men in blue get set to start off with a bang against their Bangladeshi brothers…while I have decided to support our boys with some blue spirit of my own, quite literally!

Here are the some of my most favourite ‘BLUE’ cocktails. Get into the spirit guys, World Cup fever has just begun…BLEED BLUE!

Blue Lagoon

·         1½ oz vodka

·         1½ oz Blue Curaçao

·         Lemonade

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Add the vodka and Curaçao and top up with lemonade. Stir well. Serve garnished with a slice of orange. For a Blue Lagoon shot, mix ½ oz vodka , ½ oz Blue Curaçao and ½ oz lime juice with ice in a shaker. Strain into a shot glass.

Blue Martini

·         ½ oz dry vermouth

·         1½ oz gin

·         1 teaspoonful Blue Curaçao

·         A dash of bitters

Fill a shaker with crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and shake well. Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

Azure Martini

·         2 oz gin

·         1 oz Triple Sec

·         1 oz Blue Curaçao

Fill a shaker with crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

Blue Margarita

·         2 oz tequila

·         1 oz Blue Curaçao

·         1 oz lime juice

·         ¼ oz sugar syrup

Fill a shaker with crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and shake well. Wipe the cut lime around the edge of a martini glass and dip into a saucer of salt. Carefully strain the cocktail into the glass.

Carolina Blue

·         1 oz gin

·         1 oz Blue Curaçao

·         1 lime

Fill a shaker with crushed ice. Squeeze the juice from the lime into the shaker. Add the gin and Curaçao and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass garnished with a twist of lime.

Blue Hawaiian

·         1½ oz white rum

·         3 oz pineapple juice

·         1 oz Blue Curaçao

·         1½ oz coconut milk

Fill a shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients and shake well. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Serve garnished with a cherry and a slice of pineapple.