This Fish Bowl Drink recipe is full of bright colors, made with 3 different kinds of alcohol, and bursting with tropical flavors! This fun party drink is perfect for pool days and can be enjoyed by the whole family because there is a non-alcoholic version as well!
We love making tropical drinks like the Malibu piña colada and my Carribean-inspired coconut rum cocktail, but nothing beats sharing a large fish bowl with friends! My favorite part is the hue that comes from the blue curaçao. We use this to get vibrant colors when making Tipsy Mermaids, Empress Gin cocktails, blue Hawaiian jello shots, and fruit tingles.
Complete your party by offering up a few Strawberry Daiquiri Jello Shots or Margarita Popsicles. Both of these are simple to make and a fun way to jazz up your boozy selection for guests. You may also like creamsicle jello shots or tequila sunrise shooters.
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🐠 Ingredients:
- ice cubes
- blue curaçao – turns the fish bowl drink that beautiful blue color.
- Malibu coconut rum – adds tropical coconut flavor.
- vodka – I would recommend a medium-grade vodka, such as Tito’s.
- Lime juice – fresh lime juice is the best!
- lemon-lime soda – Something like 7-Up or Sprite. You could also use flavored club soda. There is a lot of alcohol in this drink, so it’s great to have a mixer to cut the alcohol some.
- Swedish fish candy – or any gummy candy you prefer.
- Lemon and Lime slices for garnish
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Lemon and lime slices, umbrellas, or other fruit slices.
Equipment/Supplies Needed:
Goblet – these large glasses can often be found on the vase aisle. You may also want to check your local Dollar Tree to get the best deal. A plastic fish bowl will work just as well too.
Large glass beads or marbles – wash and sterilize these before using. They fill the bottom of the bowl so the Swedish Fish don’t completely sink.
Cocktail umbrellas – make the fish bowl cocktail even more fun and festive.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use a punch bowl – you can serve this fishbowl cocktail in a large bowl like a classic punch and leave the gummy candy and ice on the side so guests can make their own.
- Non-alcoholic version – this is perfect for kids and those who don’t drink alcohol, but it won’t taste the exact same and may look a little different, but it’s close enough. Combine a little simple syrup, coconut extract, and blue food coloring. Pour into a glass over the ice and gummy fish.
- Sour mix – swap the soda for sour mix or make your own by mixing together 1 oz of simple syrup, 1 oz of lemon juice, and 1 oz of lime juice.
- Pineapple juice – This adds more flavor. I would use about 2 ounces of pineapple juice. However, pineapple juice will tint your fish bowl drink slightly greener and a little murky, so it won’t be crystal clear.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Fill the fish bowl glasses with little pellet ice or the beads and marbles, along with the ice. Add two or three gummy fish on top.
Step 1: Combine the rum, blue curacao liqueur, vodka, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.
Step 2: Stir or shake to combine. Pour the mixture over ice.Top with lemon-lime soda to fill the goblet.
Pro Tip: The marble and glass beads not only look pretty but keep the fish from sinking to the bottom of the glass.
Step 3: Combine the rum, blue curacao liqueur, vodka, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.
Step 2: Stir or shake to combine. Pour the mixture over ice.Top with lemon-lime soda to fill the goblet.
SERVE: Garnish with lemon slices (or lime). Jazz up the tropical fishbowl by adding umbrellas, paper straws, or more fruit slices.
- Our “fish bowl” glasses can hold 1.3 L. After filling it with ice and some glass beads along the bottom, this drink filled the glass perfectly.
- To use a smaller glass, I would recommend halving the blue curacao, coconut rum, vodka, and lime juice. Mix those together and pour into your serving glass, then top with 7-Up to fill the glass. This will make a standard drink in regards to alcohol content.
- Our extra large drink would be considered “two drinks” worth with regard to alcohol content.
- You could also use clear rock candy (available on Amazon) or some people pour a box of Nerds candy into the bottom of the fishbowl, though I think this would bleed the color and dissolve pretty quickly.
- If you use non-edible filler like we did, thoroughly sterilize and wash/rinse before adding it to the drink. Also, make sure you are using larger marbles/beads so that they do not get sucked up in the straw and create a choking hazard.
Recipe FAQs
Blue curaçao is a bright blue liqueur that is flavored with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, which is native to the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean. The liqueur has a sweet, slightly bitter flavor and is often used as a colorful ingredient in cocktails, such as a blue Hawaiian or a blue margarita. The bright blue color of blue curaçao comes from the addition of food coloring. The liqueur is usually made from a blend of neutral spirits, sugar, and the dried peel of the laraha fruit, which is similar to an orange but is too bitter to be eaten on its own.
This varies greatly depending on each unique recipe. Our fishbowl cocktail drink is meant for 1 person and contains 5 ounces of alcohol. Larger bowls are meant to be shared, so they contain much more alcohol.
Fish bowl drinks are large, brightly colored cocktails that are served in a fishbowl-shaped glass. These drinks are typically meant to be shared among a group of people and are often served with long straws or multiple straws to allow for multiple people to drink from the same glass.
Fish bowl drinks are usually made with a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ingredients, such as vodka, rum, tequila, schnapps, fruit juices, soda, and other mixers. They are often garnished with fresh fruit, candy, or other decorations, which add to the fun and festive atmosphere.
More Fun Cocktail Recipes
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Fish Bowl Drink
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups ice cubes or enough to fill glass
- 1 ounce blue curacao
- 2 ounces Malibu coconut rum
- 2 ounces vodka
- Juice of ½ fresh lime about 1 tablespoon
- 12 ounce can of 7-Up or lemon-lime soda
- Swedish fish jelly candies for garnish
- Lemon and Lime slices for garnish optional
- Optional Supplies: large glass beads or marbles for the bottom of the goblet washed and sterilized
Instructions
- Fill the goblet with ice and any beads/marbles you are using (see notes). Place two or three Swedish fish candies to rest on top of the beads along the sides of the glass.
- In a shaker, combine blue curacao, coconut rum, vodka, and lime juice and stir or shake to combine.
- Pour the liquor mixture over the ice. Top with 7-Up to fill the goblet.
- Garnish with lemon and lime slices.
- Serve with fun drink umbrellas, straws, and additional fruit slices.
Notes
Nutrition
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