Beverages British ✦ Inspired by: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Gin, rum, vodka, tequila, crème de menthe and Galliano are blended with ice into a pale blue slush inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

What It Is

Gin, rum, vodka, tequila, crème de menthe and Galliano are blended with ice into a pale blue slush inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Origin

A real-world adaptation of the famously fictional Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker universe.

Fun Fact

In the books, the drink is described with deliberately impossible ingredients. Earth kitchens, annoyingly, remain short on Arcturan Mega-gin.

Prep
5 min
Cook
Total
5 min
Servings
1 cocktail
(double it if teenagers are involved)
Difficulty
easy
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Nut-Free
Diet
Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free
Away Mission
55 min walk
(Scotty says she cannae take much more of this, Captain)

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp gin
  • 1 tbsp light rum
  • 1 tbsp vodka
  • 1 tbsp tequila
  • 2 tbsp crème de menthe
  • 2 tbsp Galliano
  • 1 cup ice
  • Blue food colouring, as needed

Steps

  1. Blend all spirits with the ice until slushy.
  2. Add only enough blue colouring for a pale sky-blue colour.
  3. Pour into a glass and garnish with lemon or an olive.

Notes

Taste before the final adjustment. A recipe should guide dinner, not bully it. If it needs a little more acid, sweetness, salt or heat, make the change in small steps instead of launching the whole spice rack into orbit.

Nutrition Facts
Per 1 cocktail
Calories 240
Burning this off: a brisk argument with a Costco parking lot.
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.0 g 0%
Saturated + Trans 0 g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 10 mg 0%
Carbohydrate 49.0 g
Fibre 0.0 g 0%
Sugars 47.0 g 47%
Protein 0.0 g
Potassium 90 mg 2%
Calcium 5 mg 0%
Iron 0.3 mg 2%
*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot. Sodium levels calculated in a country with universal healthcare — and it's free, so don't worry about it too much.
A genuinely respectable nutrition profile. No red flags here — go ahead and feel a little smug about it.

Substitutions

Use equivalent ingredients where needed for allergies or availability, but keep the main sweet/sour/salty/spicy balance intact. This is cooking, not a hostage negotiation.

Storage

Keep covered and chilled. Fresh-fruit or dairy drinks are best used within 1–2 days; fizzy drinks are happiest served the same day before the bubbles file for retirement.

Freezing

Freeze still fruit bases or concentrates if useful, but add carbonation after thawing. Dairy-heavy drinks are better made fresh.