Blue moon is not a flavor I would want to have every day. It’s not like mint or cinnamon, which are universal and no one ever gets bored with. But every once in a while, I crave blue moon. And I found out in other parts of the country, it’s hard to come by. In Wisconsin it was something I could get at any ice cream store, and as a child I usually got a scoop of bubble gum ice cream to compliment it. However outside the midwest, no one seems to have heard of it.
I found a chain called Kilwin’s that originated in the midwest that does sell it. We drove over an hour last weekend to get some, and it was a welcome relief. People in Wisconsin always brag about the cheese, but really any cheese in any country in Europe is better than Wisconsin cheese. What Wisconsin should really be proud of is the ice cream. I wish there were as many Babcock dairy’s as their are Starbucks in the US. I would be very content to have ice cream every day.
So I had my blue moon ice cream, and it was good. But I discovered a way to “bring home the flavor” without having a melting tub of ice cream in your back seat. You see, blue moon is a very strange combination of almond and citrus, so trying to replicate it is usually pretty difficult. In fact I believe there aren’t any real “food” ingredients to it, it’s just a chemical additive that someone thought made a pretty good ice cream flavor. But I think I did pretty well considering.
I have created a Blue Moon mixed drink. It’s simple yet satisfying if you ever get in a blue moon mood. All you do is fill a tall glass with crushed ice, add 3/4 oz. of blue curacao and 1 oz. amaretto liquor (I used Disaronno but I don’t think the brand matters as much) and let it melt the ice a little before you start drinking. It needs to be very very cold, and it’s incredibly smooth and creamy as it is. I have also tried this with a splash of milk, which makes it look more like blue moon ice cream, and blended with vanilla ice cream to make an ice cream drink.
