Green Ferrit

A two-ingredient pint cocktail of cider and blue curacao. Three-quarters of a pint of cider with one ounce of blue curacao stirred in, topped with more cider. Drinks bright green-blue, sweet and apple-citrus; named for the colour shift the curacao adds.

Green Ferrit

4.54 from 15 votes

Calories: 98kcal

Prep Time: 3

Total Time: 5

Ingredients

▢ 1 Pint(s) Cider Beer
▢ 1 oz Blue Curacao Liqueur

Instructions

▢
Fill 3/4 of a pint glass with cider. Add the blue curacao and fill the glass with cider.

Estimated Nutrition:

Calories: 98kcal (5%)Carbohydrates: 8g (3%)Sugar: 8g (9%)

Where it came from

The Green Ferrit is a British and Australian pub cocktail from the late 1990s and early 2000s, named for the green colour the blue curacao takes on once it mixes with the yellow-amber apple cider. Blue plus yellow makes green; the drink is a colour-trick novelty. The build is informal pub-and-student-bar.

It sits in the cider-cocktail family with the Snakebite, the Cider Black and the Green Apple Cider. All four lean on a fruit-flavour modifier plus a cider for a long sweet pour. The Green Ferrit separates itself with the blue curacao lead, which gives a colour-shift effect that the cassis or melon-liqueur cousins cannot match.

Best ordered at a back-bar pub for the visual novelty or a student-bar happy hour, not at a craft cocktail bar. The drink is a colour-trick first; the orange-and-citrus from the curacao sits as an accent against the apple-cider volume.

What it tastes like

Bright orange-citrus from the curacao up front, soft apple cider through the middle, dry cider hops on the finish. The combination is sweeter than a straight cider; the curacao adds sugar and a citrus note. Reads as a flavoured-cider long pour with a visual signature.

Around 6 percent ABV in the pint glass once mixed. One ounce of blue curacao at 25 percent ABV plus a pint of cider at 5 percent ABV gives a moderate-strength long pour, slightly stronger than a straight pint of cider. Each pint holds about one and a half standard drinks.

The technique

Fill three-quarters of a chilled pint glass with cold apple cider. Add one ounce of blue curacao; the cider should turn green on contact. Top with more cider to fill the glass. Stir gently with a bar spoon to combine. Drink direct.

The cider-first pour is the technique. Pouring the cider before the curacao gives the colour shift its drama; the blue curacao mixes with the yellow-amber cider and the whole pint turns bright green. Top with more cider after to fill the glass; do not over-stir, the colour holds without much agitation.

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Ingredient Spotlight

The bottles that make or break this drink.

The blue curacao

Use: Bols Blue Curacao, Marie Brizard Blue, or any 25 percent ABV blue-coloured orange liqueur.
Skip: White curacao or triple sec. Loses the colour-trick effect.
Why: Blue curacao is the load-bearing colour and the orange-citrus middle note. The bright blue dye is what creates the green-on-cider colour shift; clear curacao or triple sec gives the same flavour but loses the visual signature, and the drink loses its name and reason.

The cider

Use: Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers, or any 4 to 6 percent ABV apple cider, cold.
Skip: Pear cider or super-sweet fruit-cider blends. Wrong colour and sweetness.
Why: Apple cider is the volume and the colour base. The yellow-amber colour of the cider mixes with the blue curacao to make the green; pear ciders are nearly clear and the colour shift is muted. The dry-hop finish also balances the curacao sweetness.

Three Variations

Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.

The standard build

Green Ferrit, in a pint glass: Three-quarters of a pint of cider, one ounce of blue curacao, topped with more cider, stirred gently.

The double-curacao build

Bright Green Ferrit: Double the curacao to two ounces. Brighter green, sweeter overall, slightly stronger pour.

The dark build

Black-and-Green Ferrit: Add a quarter pint of black cassis to the bottom of the glass before the curacao and cider. Pulls the drink toward a layered pint with a dark base.

What if I don't have…

Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.

No blue curacao?

Use white curacao plus a few drops of blue food colouring. Same flavour, holds the colour-trick effect.

No cider?

An English bitter or a wheat beer. Different hop profile, holds the long-pour structure.

No pint glass?

A 16-ounce highball or any tall glass works. The volume is the constraint.

No chilled glass?

Pop the glass in the freezer for two minutes before pouring. A frozen glass works as a substitute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.

What is in a Green Ferrit?

Three-quarters of a pint of cold apple cider in a chilled pint glass, one ounce of blue curacao stirred in, topped with more cider to fill. Two ingredients, served in a pint glass.

Why is it called a Green Ferrit?

Named for the green colour the blue curacao takes on once it mixes with the yellow-amber apple cider. Blue plus yellow makes green; the drink is a pub colour-trick from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Ferrit spelling is informal and varies by bar.

How strong is a Green Ferrit?

Around 6 percent ABV in the pint glass once mixed. Each pint holds about one and a half standard drinks. Slightly stronger than a straight pint of cider.

What does it taste like?

Bright orange-citrus from the curacao up front, soft apple cider through the middle, dry cider hops on the finish. Reads as a flavoured-cider long pour with a colour-trick visual.

Why does it turn green?

Blue plus yellow makes green. Blue curacao is dyed bright blue; apple cider is yellow-amber. When the two combine, the colours mix to give a clear green liquid. The shift is the visual signature of the cocktail and the source of the name.

Can I use a clear curacao?

Possible but the cocktail loses its name. Clear curacao or triple sec gives the same flavour profile but the cider stays yellow; without the colour shift, the drink is just a sweetened cider. The blue dye is the load-bearing visual.

What kind of cider works best?

An apple cider at 4 to 6 percent ABV (Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers) is the standard. Avoid pear cider; the cider is nearly clear and the colour shift is muted. Stick with yellow-amber apple ciders.

Is the Green Ferrit related to the Snakebite?

Yes, both are cider-based pub long-pours from the British drinking culture. The Snakebite uses lager and cider in equal parts; the Green Ferrit replaces the lager with blue curacao for the colour-trick effect.

From the Drink Lab catalogue

Drink Lab has been collecting cocktail recipes since 2013. Some we wrote ourselves, plenty came in from readers, and the rest got passed across a bar somewhere along the way.

Last updated May 8, 2026 · 1 min read