Purple Rain Drink and All Drinks Purple

by Randy Woodward May 01, 2020

Prince, the singer who rocked the world with his iconic purple outfits and equally iconic music and performances, inspired the Purple Rain drink. Purple Rain is also the name of his 6th album and film in which he starred as a character based on himself.

The Purple Rain drink is a variation of the Long Island Iced Tea and another cocktail with almost the same ingredients. The blue curacao and the grenadine give this cocktail its distinct purple color. When drizzled after mixing with the blue curacao, the grenadine’s gradual sinking into the cocktail evokes the imagery of heavy rain.

Here is a thorough guide on how to make the iconic purple rain drink and its other variants.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with lots of ice.
  2. Pour the ingredients into the shaker.
  3. Shake well until mixed.
  4. Serve over ice in a hurricane glass or any glass of choice.
  5. Squeeze fresh lime over the drink.

The Song Behind the Purple Rain Drink

Want to listen to the song that inspired this cocktail? You might want to enjoy it while sipping your Purple Rain drink.

Purple Rain Drink Variations

Violet Wonder

This light purple cocktail is made from the Marie Brizard Parfait Amour liqueur. The Parfait Amour is flavored with rose petals, violets, and other botanicals from Madagascar. You can drink it on its own, but it tastes even better when paired with citrus vodka.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. Marie Brizard Parfait Amour
  • 1 oz. Ketel One Citroen Vodka
  • 1/2 Fresh lemon (juiced)

Steps to Make

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.
  2. Strain into a cocktail coupe .
  3. Garnish with a lemon spiral.

Seasoned Purple Rain

This Purple Rain drink variant is spiced with Worcestershire sauce. Thankfully, there are no fishy or any off-flavors that may be associated with the seasoning. Mixed with Straw-ber-Rita, a canned sparkling margarita, and ginger ale , this cocktail has a low ABV.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a highball glass with crushed ice up to three-quarters full.
  2. Add the blue curacao, vodka, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well.
  3. Add the Straw-ber-Rita and continue stirring, leaving enough space for the final ingredient.
  4. Top with ginger ale.

Frothy Purple Rain

Indulge in frothy goodness with this Purple Rain recipe that incorporated egg whites. It also veers from the classic Purple Rain drink since the only ingredient it seems to keep is lemon juice. The rest is relatively new, but everything worked together perfectly. Dry shake vigorously to bring out enough froth.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Add ice into a glass to chill it.
  2. Put all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake for 3 seconds.
  3. Add ice cubes into the shaker and continue shaking to chill the cocktail.
  4. Strain into a glass. Enjoy!

Alluring Lullaby

This lovely and tasty Purple Rain drink variation is created with Hpnotiq and Viniq - a shimmery purple liqueur. Another intriguing liquor is grape vodka. Vodka is usually made from potatoes or cereals, but this one is made from overripe grapes distilled and purified using a different method.

Ingredients

Step to Make

  1. Add a few drops of Grenadine and Blue curacao to some granulated sugar. Mix until you achieve a beautiful purple sugar.
  2. Rim the goblet by dipping it into some corn syrup and then into the purple sugar.
  3. Pour the Viniq, Hpnotiq, and grape vodka into a cocktail shaker.
  4. Add ice cubes and shake well.
  5. Strain into the rimmed goblet.
  6. Top with a splash of Sprite.

Purple People Eater

The Purple People Eater does not veer far away from the Purple Rain drink, except that the lemonade is switched with cranberry juice.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Rim edge of the goblet with purple sugar. Set aside.
  2. Fill a shaker with ice.
  3. Add the vodka, blue curacao, sweet and sour mix, grenadine, and cranberry juice. Shake for 8 seconds to mix and chill.
  4. Add some ice into the rimmed glass and pour the cocktail into it.
  5. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Purple Prince

This was a tribute to Prince’s death in 2016. Known for his love of all things purple, this intriguing cocktail personifies the icon who had touched more lives than he ever let known to the public. This Purple rain drink variation may taste different as the crushed pomegranate ice melts, lending a new flavor.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Freeze one cup of pomegranate juice overnight.
  2. In a glass, add the gin, Hipnotiq, blue curacao, cranberry juice, and grenadine.
  3. Stir to mix.
  4. Crush the pomegranate ice. Add some regular ice cubes for contrast.
  5. Put the ice into the serving glass.
  6. Pour in the cocktail mix.
  7. Garnish with a few grape hyacinths and pomegranate seeds .

Caribbean Storm

This Purple Rain drink variant is a rainstorm concoction of various ingredients. With the Everclear, rums, and blue curacao, this cocktail has a high ABV. Fortunately, its wide glass contains mostly ice, so you don’t have to worry too much.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a shaker with ice.
  2. Add the rums and the triple melon lemonade. Shake well.
  3. Pour this cocktail mix into a goblet. Add lots of ice.
  4. In a separate glass, add the blue curacao, Everclear, and Sprite.
  5. Float over the cocktail by pouring it over the back of a spoon.
  6. Top with the orange and strawberry slices and a few raspberries.

Victoria’s Empress Purple Rain Tonic

Victoria’s Empress 1908 Gin is made with butterfly pea flowers. It changes color when mixed with anything acidic and mixes well when combined with the citrus tonic.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a whiskey glass with ice cubes.
  2. Add the Victoria’s Empress 1908 Gin
  3. Add a few rosemary sprigs.
  4. Top with the Tonica Tassoni.

Purple Potion

Bring out the witch in you with the Purple Potion cocktail. It adds some mystery and a level of spookiness by using some dry ice. Remember, don’t drink it while there is still some popping on the cocktail; this means that the dry ice is not yet dissolved.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Rim a coupe glass with purple sugar.
  2. Add the blackberry liqueur and lime juice into a shaker with ice. Shake well.
  3. Strain into the coupe glass added with a few ice chunks.
  4. Top with club soda.
  5. Garnish with the skewered blackberries.
  6. Add a small chunk of dry ice. Let the popping bubbles and smoke settle before drinking.

Purple Gecko

Here’s another weirdly named purple rain drink variation that uses two kinds of curacao - orange and blue. It also switched vodka with tequila. This cocktail is served in a cactus-stemmed goblet for that authentic Mexican feel.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Rim with glass with lime juice and salt.
  2. Add the ingredients into a shaker.
  3. Add ice and shake well.
  4. Strain into the prepared glass filled with ice.
  5. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Blended Purple Rain

Shaking wasn’t enough, so the creator of this purple cocktail used a blender instead. Blending adds more air to the drink for a lighter and smoother flavor. This Purple Rain drink variant is also sweeter, with more grenadine added to it.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Prepare a martini glass by rubbing a chunk of ice on the rim of the glass and dip it into sugar.
  2. Add the vodka, lime juice, Sprite, blue curacao, and grenadine syrup into a blender.
  3. Blend on low for 1 minute.
  4. Add ice into the prepared martini glass.
  5. Pour the blended cocktail into the glass. Serve with a straw.

Purple Rain Shot

Make a shot out of your Purple Rain cocktail using just two ingredients so you don’t veer away from the original recipe.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  • Fill a shaker with ice.
  • Add the vodka and the blue curacao.
  • Shake well and strain into a shot glass .

Energized Purple Rain

Get energized with this cocktail that only uses three ingredients. This Purple Rain recipe is straightforward to make.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Pour the vodka and blue curacao into a highball glass .
  2. Add ice.
  3. Top with the energy drink.

Suze Purple Rain

Suze is a bitter French aperitif made with gentian roots. Gentian roots treat loss of appetite, bloating, heartburn, and fever. It can also be used to prevent muscle spasms and is effective in treating wounds.

Suze is likened to the umami of drinks, the flavor that you can barely describe but what your palate craves. Mixed in a cocktail, it gives a slightly distinct bitterness that makes it an excellent drink before meals.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a highball glass up to three-quarters with ice.
  2. Pour the simple syrup, lemon juice, Suze, and gin into a highball glass.
  3. Stir slowly.
  4. Top with sparkling water.
  5. Garnish with creme de cassis

Campari Purple Rain

Muddling fruits in your cocktail add more flavor to it. Using Campari instead of grenadine, you can add more color and a different taste to the classic Purple Rain drink recipe. The berries add more flavor to it as well.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Muddle blueberries, blackberries, and lemon juice in a shaker .
  2. Add the pasteurized egg white, almond syrup, blackberry liqueur, Campari, and the gin.
  3. Dry shake for a few seconds. Dry shaking is shaking the cocktail without ice. This allows for the formation of froth from the egg whites.
  4. Add ice and continue shaking.
  5. Double strain into a tiki mug .

Caribbean Purple Rain

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This is a Purple Rain drink recipe from a Caribbean hotel. It is made with lots of crushed ice but can become watered down if you leave it out for too long.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a hurricane glass with lots of crushed ice.
  2. Add all the ingredients into the glass and stir it.
  3. Squeeze the lemon slice on top of the drink.

Raspberry Purple Rain

Grenadine is usually made with blackcurrant berries. However, a homemade raspberry grenadine makes it all the more remarkable, giving it a somewhat different tint. The pomegranate juice ties it together.

Ingredients

Raspberry Grenadine

Cocktail

Steps to Make

Raspberry Grenadine

  1. Simmer the water in a medium sauce over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
  2. Muddle the raspberries to extract all the juice.
  3. Strain it using a cheesecloth to remove the seeds and skin.
  4. Pour the liquid into the saucepan, add the pomegranate juice.
  5. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. Add the sugar and continue cooking until the liquid thickens.
  7. Let cool and set aside.

Assemble the Cocktail

  1. Combine all the ingredients, except the soda water, in a shaker filled with ice.
  2. Shake until well-chilled.
  3. Strain into a hurricane glass filled with crushed ice.
  4. Top with soda water.

Purple Glitter Cocktail

Edible purple glitter gives allure to this simple cocktail. This Purple Rain drink variant would also look bland without the raspberries dropped into it.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Mix the vodka, Bergamot, and club soda in a rocks glass .
  2. Add ice chunks.
  3. Skewer three raspberries and fill each hole with some purple glitter.
  4. Stir the skewered raspberries into the cocktail until the glitter is dissolved and colors the cocktail, resulting in a shimmery drink.

Cranberry Purple Haze

This is not a Purple Rain cocktail recipe, but we decided to add this because of its hue. It also does not look purple enough because it just uses cranberry liqueur and juice.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Fill a shaker with ice.
  2. Pour in the vodka and black raspberry liqueur. Shake well.
  3. Strain into a rocks glass .
  4. Top with cranberry juice. The more cranberry juice you add, the lighter purple it is.

Purple Rain Drink & Other Vodka Cocktails Food Pairings

Vodka is a Russian liquor, and what better way to enjoy it than with Russian-inspired recipes. Try these delicious food recipes that will make your guests crave more.

Buffalo Chicken Crescent Rolls

Cheesy, spicy flaked chicken wrapped in Pillsbury Crescent Rolls baked to perfection.

Smoked Salmon Blinis

Cold-smoked salmon with Parmesan cream cheese and honey mustard cream cheese atop Russian pancakes (blini) makes a nice appetizer for Purple Rain drink and other vodka cocktails.

Salad Olivier

A traditional Russian salad that resembles a potato salad but packs more vegetables and meat. It is also easier to make and uses eggs, potatoes, carrots, green peas, and cucumber mixed with seasoned mayonnaise.

Smoked Tenderloin

Tender smoked beef ribs seasoned lightly with just salt and pepper to let you enjoy the meat without masking its natural flavors.

Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Sausage

Decadently delicious smoked sausage wrapped in thin bacon strips and cooked over a wood grill. Tender, caramelized bacon gives new heights to the smoked sausage.

Purple Rain Drink FAQ

1. What does Purple Rain cocktail taste like?

The Purple Rain drink is bold and fresh with a slight bitterness from blue curacao and slightly sweet and sour from the fruit juices.

2. How do you make TGI Purple Rain?

It is made of Havana Club 3-year old rum, blue curacao, Stolichnaya premium vodka, Chambord, sweet & sour, and grenadine syrup.

3. What is the alternative to blue curacao and grenadine to make a purple cocktail?

The tea from the butterfly pea flower is a good alternative for purple cocktails as it reacts with the acid in the alcohol, creating a beautiful purple color.

The Victoria’s Empress 1908 Gin is also a good alternative for purple cocktails. It is made from a mix of ginger, blood orange, cinnamon, butterfly pea flower, and other botanicals. It also makes an excellent gin tonic .

Another great alternative is the purple edible glitter for a shimmery purple cocktail. You can also use regular grape juice or sparkling red grape juice.

4. What makes the Viniq Original shimmery?

Viniq Original is a shimmery purple flavor of Viniq and can add a light purple color and pearlized sheen to cocktails. Its shimmer comes from the mica powder used in baking and cosmetics.

What is the Starbucks purple drink called?

The Pink Purple Drink is made with a combination of Pink Drink (strawberry acai refresher with coconut milk) and passion iced tea with soy milk, vanilla syrup, and blackberries. The mixture is stunning and non-alcoholic.

Conclusion

Whatever Purple Rain drink recipe you decide to try, remember to choose the one that reflects your personality and taste. After all, the purple drink and its variations are delicious and pay tribute to the music legend and cultural icon, Prince.

Do you know other drinks inspired by a song or artist? Let us know in the comments below.

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