Top Fourth of July Cocktails
What better reason for a good drink than to celebrate the birth of a nation? Great Fourth of July cocktails must have more than an apt name about them; they should include great American ingredients, a bit of imagination and if they are red, white and blue, then all the better. Here are six of the best:
♦ American Breakfast
Although there is no reason why you couldn’t drink this little wonder at 9am, the American Breakfast makes for a fantastic after dinner drink and is original, and delicious. The grapefruit offsets the sweetness of the maple syrup and provides a wonderful balance of flavour.
2 shot Bourbon
1 teaspoon Maple syrup
1.5 shot Fresh grapefruit juice
Chill an Old Fashioned glass and then fill it with ice. Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into the glass. Garnish with a small slice of grapefruit.
♦ American Pie Martini
This is a wonderfully rich (and strong) Martini-based. The only drawback is that it commands the use of some pretty hard-to-come-by ingredients, but the final product is worth the schlep!
1.5 shot Bourbon
0.5 shot Blueberry liqueur (i.e. Giffards)
0.5 shot Apple schnapps
1 shot Cranberry juice
0.5 shot Apple juice
0.25 shot Lime juice
Chill a V-shaped (Martini) glass. Shake all ingredients over ice and fine strain into the glass. Garnish with apple.
♦ Apple Pie Martini
Mmn- apple and cinnamon make for a wonderfully complex martini variant which is as American as um, apple pie.
1.5 shot Bisongrass vodka (i.e. Zubrówka)
0.5 shot Goldschläger cinnamon schnapps
2 shot Apple juice
1 shot Cranberry juice
Chill a V-shaped (Martini) glass, shake all ingredients over ice and fine strain into the glass. Garnish with apple.
♦ Boston Tea Party
In effect, this is a turbo-charged Long Island Iced Tea, named after the famous protest against British imposition of tax that slowly escalated into the Revolutionary War of 1775. A bit ‘studenty’, but still definitely worth a try!
0.5 shot of:
Vodka, Scotch, Dry vermouth, Triple sec, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Orange juice and Sugar syrup
1 shot Lime juice
Top with Coke
Shake all the ingredients over ice apart from the Coke. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and top with Coke. Garnish with lemon and serve with straws (and a pint of water!)
♦ Fourth of July shot
A very patriotic-looking shot! It actually tastes pretty good as well.
0.25 shot Grenadine
0.5 shot Blue curaçao
0.5 shot Vodka
Chill ingredients first, as this makes them easier to layer. Once chilled, layer the three ingredients into a shot glass. Use the back of a teaspoon to help in the layering process.
♦ Veuve & Bourb
Named after a drink created by the totally sensible Edina and Patsy from British sitcom ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ (‘Veuve’ of course referring to Veuve Clicquot bubbly), this is an American take on champagne cocktails.
0.5 shot Bourbon
1 cube of white sugar
Angostura Bitters
Top with Champagne
Coat the sugar cube with the bitters and place in the bottom of a champagne flute. Pour the bourbon and then top up with champagne.
