Ooh La La is a Disney Cruise Line craft cocktail that is easy enough to make yourself at home! Cuban mojitos with a French flair, these Elderflower-infused libations are refreshing and light with a burst of lime and mint flavor in every sip.
(This recipe was originally published in November 2019, but was updated with new photos and content in 2021).
I once participated in a mojito tasting aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship. We not only learned how to make traditional and flavored mojitos, but also sampled drinks including typical mojito ingredients.
One of the cocktails we tried is featured on the Disney Cruise ship's Skyline Lounge drink menu. Cocktails here are devoted to a variety of world cities whose images make up the illuminated decor in the intimate lounge.
A cocktail by the name of Ooh La La is available on the Paris menu. It's a play on a traditional mojito. The inclusion of a French liqueur is likely the only reason this drink would be representing Paris as opposed to Havana. Regardless of its roots, it's a delicious adult beverage I was anxious to recreate.
Luckily the bartender at Skyline Lounge provided me with details and suggestions on measurements for my DIY cocktail. Unlike a mojito which is served on the rocks, the Ooh La La is shaken, then strained into a cocktail glass.
In addition to the standard lime, mint, rum, and seltzer water, the real French element here is the St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, making more of a refined elderflower mojito. I love elderflower cocktails! St. Germain is one of my favorite cocktail ingredients and definitely gives this Ooh La La a little je ne sais quoi.
Ingredient notes
- St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur: St. Germain is produced in an artisanal manner with elderflowers hand-picked in the hillsides of the French Alps during a four-to-six week period in late spring. The flowers are then bicycled (how French!) to where they are macerated and processed into liqueur using a secret method. The bottles are individually numbered reflecting the year in which the flowers were picked. The result is a beautifully floral (yet not medicinal or soapy) essence with hints of fruit. It's the magic ingredient in some of my favorite cocktails, and in my opinion worth the hefty price tag.
- White Rum: Both DCL and I use Bacardi white rum for this Disney cocktail recipe. You could use another brand of white rum (aka silver or light rum), but Bacardi is what I use and I recommend it.
- Cherry Garnish: Disney Cruise Line uses Filthy brand black cherries in their Ooh La La cocktail. Although I finally tracked down a few bottles at a local liquor store, I actually opted to try a different brand called Luxardo. Both brands have similar ingredients, but they use slightly different varieties of Italian cherries. Filthy brand almost tastes like fruit roll ups or chewy fruit snacks, and uses Italian Amarena cherries. Luxardo tastes more like exceptionally good maraschino cherries, and uses Italian Marasca cherries. They are slightly different, but both great, and both use natural ingredients (ie no high fructose corn syrup or artificial food dye). I find the Luxardo to be more cost effective for the size of the jar.
- Seltzer: Seltzer water is just water with carbonation while club soda also contains potassium bicarbonate and potassium sulfate (and tastes a bit different). For the purposes of this elderflower cocktail recipe, I recommend using plain old seltzer water.
How to make it
Place cherry garnish into a cocktail glass.
Muddle together lime wedges and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add Bacardi, St. Germain, ice, and shake well.
Strain through a small fine mesh sieve into the cocktail glass. Top off with seltzer water and serve immediately.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Don't rely only on your cocktail strainer for this elderflower cocktail. I like to use the built-in strainer in my cocktail shaker, but also strain over a small fine mesh sieve to remove lime pulp and bits of mint leaves from the finished cocktail.
If there is any cherry syrup in the bottom of the glass, you can give it a little stir to dissolve. This might make your Ooh La La Disney cocktail a bit more blush or pink (like these photos) if there is a lot of syrup collected there. For bright white cocktails like those served on board, do a more meticulous job of straining your cherries. Maybe even blot off extra syrup with a paper towel before adding to your drink.
My cocktail glasses have a 7 ½ ounce capacity. If yours are much larger you may need to adjust the ingredient amounts to get the proper ratios.
Other recipes you may like
- HippopotoMai-Tai (from Trader Sam's at Disney)
- Cranberry Daiquiri
- Painkiller Cocktail
- Prickly Pear Margarita
- Tamarind Margaritas
- Hibiscus Margarita (Margarita de Jamaica)
- Fleming's Blueberry Lemon Drop Martini
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Ooh La La (Mojito Inspired Elderflower Cocktail from DCL)
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 black cherries in syrup (Filthy or Luxardo brands are both good)
- 3 lime wedges (from a lime cut into 8 wedges)
- 6 to 8 mint leaves
- 1 ½ ounces Bacardi white rum
- ½ ounce St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- Cold seltzer water to top off
Instructions
- Place cherry garnish into cocktail glass.
- Muddle together the lime wedges and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add Bacardi, St. Germain, ice, and shake well.
- Strain through a small fine mesh sieve into the cocktail glass to remove lime pulp and bits of mint leaves. If there is any cherry syrup settled in the bottom of the glass, give it a little stir to dissolve. Top off with seltzer water. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Lucy Reinbold
This quickly became my favorite new cocktail onboard Disney Cruise Line last year! Brings back some amazing memories, I can't wait to shake up some more!
Camille
I always need a good drink recipe and this looks awesome! I can't wait to try it!