Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) ginger beer/rum/lemonade and raspberry cordial.

1885		Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 21 Nov. 3/5: Yates had previously changed the pound note at the Court House Hotel, calling for what was called a ‘barmaid’s blush,’ that was ginger, beer and raspberry.
1898		Aus. Star (Sydney) 6 Aug. 6/1: Mixed Drinks [...] even on the isolated resorts of the Never Never the virtues of rum and cloves and barmaid’s blush find but few votaries, where once they possessed legions.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 102: MAIDEN’S OR BARMAID’S BLUSH: slang a soft drink composed of gingerbeer and raspberry syrup: probably from the pink colour of the beverage.
1903		Sun. Times (Perth) 9 Aug. 4/7: Never the gorgeous bounder will imbibe his ‘barmaid’s blush’.
1912		Advertiser (Adelaide) 1 Apr. 10/5: ‘Barmaid’s blush has been called an intoxicating smile,’ said the customer [...] ‘It is not intoxicating at all [...] Beer and raspberry it is’.
1912		Sun (Kalgoorlie, WA) 19 May 7/4: A drink of lemonade and raspberry [...] your first draught of barmaid’s blush.
1926		Sport (Adelaide) 19 Nov. 9/7: We scorned to waste our thirsts on ‘bar-maids’ blushes,’ which are mostly beer and raspberry, things without bite or life, stale and flatulent.
1946		J.R. Grey World’s End 114: A pink, fizzy drink, vulgarly known as Barmaid’s Blush.
1970		W. Fearn-Wannan Aus. Folklore 32: Usually in old-time bush-men’s meaning, a drink of rum and raspberry is a Barmaid’s Blush .
1972		B. Wannan Folklore of the Aus. Pub 124: Barmaid’s Blush: a drink of rum mixed with raspberry cordial. Also known as maiden’s blush (both now obs.).
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 16: barmaid’s blush Rum and raspberry or port and lemon. Early C20 ANZ.

2. (US) a cocktail based on champagne.

1923

Sun (Sydney) 22 July 14/2: In the delicate matter of dlsponslng of champagne there 1b much to learn from this valuable compilation. How few of us, for instance, know how to compound a ‘Hot Locomotive,’ or a ‘Port Light,’ or a ‘Barmaid’s Blush’.

3. port and lemonade.

1932		Arrow (Sydney) 29 July 9/2: His display was of the barmaid’s blush variety — Port Wine with much lemonade.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl.
1948		E.A. Sells Donald of China 23: Donald ordered, ‘Barmaid’s Blush, please.’ ‘What in the hell is that?’ exclaimed Smiler. [...] ‘It’s a glass of soda with a teaspoonful of port wine’.
1972		G.W. Turner Eng. Lang. in Aus. and N.Z. 98: Barmid’s blush a drink of port and lemonade.
2003		see sense 1.