In 1957 a representative of the Bols distillery walked into the bar at the Kaiser Hawaiian Village (now the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Resort) in Honolulu. Aiming to boost his sales he asked the bartender Harry K. Yee to create a cocktail featuring Bols Blue Curaçao. Mr Yee tried several variations before settling on vodka, rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice and sweet-and-sour mix.

Mr Yee named the drink after the classic Bing Crosby song Blue Hawaii from his 1937 film Waikiki Wedding, putting Hawaii on the cocktail map two years before gaining statehood.

Even though Mr Yee’s recipe calls for sweet-and-sour mix the drink is vastly improved by making your own by mixing equal parts lime juice, lemon juice and sugar syrup.

The glass called Billie was designed by the Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester in 2019. Ann Demeulemeester is one of the famous Antwerp Six in the fashion industry.