Independence Day Party Drinks

Last year at this time I was just ramping up my mixology experimentation. I played informal bartender for a BBQ hosted by friends and got considerable kudos for the drinks. You can find the recipes and the full story in the post Independence Day Mixology.

This year I reprised my role, same party but different drinks, and continued the theme of drinks made with hand-infused vodkas. I am mixing up a couple of Adult Creamsicles in the following picture. The recipes for all the drinks are just below that.

One thing you will notice is that the proportions of all of the recipes make short drinks. I have found that this gives folks a chance to try something and then come back for a full size one if they like it.

Simple Summer Shandy

½ Corona Light
½ lemonade
Splash of Rose’s Lime juice
Stir

A beer cocktail is a surprising way to walk the line between the beer drinkers and the cocktail lovers. It is also a way to dress up a beer that might be otherwise lacking in character.

Mango/ Strawberry Cooler

1 oz Three Olives mango vodka,
½ oz hand-infused strawberry vodka
½ oz mango puree
Splash of lemon juice
Shaken with ice

This was the hit of the party. I enjoyed one myself and kept making them until the mango vodka was gone!

Sour Appletini

1 oz hand-infused apple vodka (courtesy of our friend Amy)
1 /2 oz sour apple pucker
½ sour mix
Shaken with ice

I didn’t end up making any of these. I guess apple wasn’t the flavor of the day!

Dark & Stormy

4 oz Maine brewed ginger beer
1 oz hand-infused spiced/dark rum
Stir

This was pretty popular, and it really is no surprise. The nuance with the ginger and spices really grabs your attention. The ginger beer was pretty spicy, which suits me just fine!

Adult Creamsicle

1 ½ oz half & half
1 oz hand-infused vanilla vodka
1 oz orange juice
¾ oz triple-sec
Shaken with ice

I whipped this up in hopes of evoking a childhood favorite, the Creamsicle. Based on the feedback, I nailed it!

Ancient Fire Sangria

I blogged the recipe for this little gem on Friday in a post entitled “A Sangria You Can’t Get Anywhere Else”. I made 3 liters and have just under a liter left to enjoy. Definitely the right stuff!

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. People claim the holiday is about eating, drinking and blowing stuff up, but I prefer to just do the first two to excess!

Cheers!

Jason