Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Red, White & Blue Cocktails

The 4th July will be upon us in no time so it's time to start thinking of what cocktails we want to be serving up - how about a collection of red, white and blue cocktails?

There are a number of different red cocktails from the super easy Bloody Mary to a Campari Cocktail and more.   I've actually compiled a collection of red cocktails for Valentines day on another page, but you could give them more of a patriotic name and use any of them at your 4th July celebrations - Red Cocktails.

Bloody Mary


1 part of vodka
tomato juice
celery salt
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce

Pour 1 part of vodka into a highball glass that has ice in it, top up with the tomato juice.    Add a dash of celery salt, Tabasco sauce and a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce, give it a stir and it's done.

Campari Cocktail


2 parts Campari
1 part vodka
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Pop all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.   Strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

Now let's move onto white cocktails and personally I think the best white cocktail is the White Russian and as the saying goes 'forget the rest and have the best,' but I'm thinking you probably want a selection of drinks so here are a few more ideas.    Hair of the Dog and Brandy Alexander are two other white cocktails that you can choose from.

Hair of the Dog


1 part Scotch whisky
1 1/2 parts single cream
1/2 part honey

Gently mix all of the ingredients together and pour into a shot glass over ice to serve.

White Russian


2 parts vodka
1 part kahlua
1 1/2 parts cream

This is served in an old fashioned glass over ice and there are a number of different variations on the mixing of it - although it can be nice to float the cream on top in this case I think you should make it the way I do so that you have a 'white cocktail.'    Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well before straining into an old fashioned glass over ice.

Now let's talk about blue cocktails.   One of my favorite ways of creating a blue cocktail is by using Blue Curacao and when it comes to summer cocktails you don't get many that are as refreshing as the Blue Lagoon.   Other blue cocktails include the Sapphire Martini and the Blue Carnation.

Sapphire Martini

2 parts gin (frozen)
2 dashes dry vermouth
2 dashes blue curacao

Take a chilled cocktail glass and add your dry vermouth and blue curacao - swirl around the glass to add a coating before pouring in the gin.   It's very important that the gin has been kept in the freezer over night as this martini is best served extremely cold.   Be aware that this is a very strong cocktail that would do the likes of Winston Churchill or Ernest Hemmingway proud.

Blue Carnation

1/2 part white cream de cacao
1/2 part blue curacao
2 parts cream

Now this is a delicious, creamy cocktail which is always a plus in my books and it's also incredibly easy to make as you simply pop all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and 'shake, baby, shake,' next strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

So there you have it some red, white and blue cocktails for your 4th July celebrations - have fun and be safe. Remember to make sure you have some designated drivers and have drinks available for them, a really easy way of creating red, white and blue drinks for drivers is by using lemonade and food coloring.   For more great ideas check out my Mocktails page.

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