July 4th Drinks & Essentials

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Every 4th of July recipe roundup ends the same way: here's the layered red, white and blue drink, now go find the vodka, the blue curaçao, and the grenadine yourself. This collection is the part that usually gets left out. The patriotic cocktails and red, white and blue drinks below come with the actual bottles to buy: the layered highball, a pitcher of sangria, a frozen berry lemonade, and a wine sparkler for people who don't want to measure anything. Some are built for a crowd. Some take two minutes and one pour. The spirits doing the work are the usual Independence Day lineup, vodka , white rum , blue curaçao , and a bottle of grenadine for the red layer, plus sparkling wine if you'd rather keep it simple. Read the recipe, then shop it in the same place. The drinks to make and what to buy for each Layered Red, White & Blue Cocktail The one everyone means when they say "red, white and blue drink." It looks harder than it is. The three bands aren't a cocktail skill. They're sugar density doing the work while you pour slowly. Underneath the color, it drinks like a spiked lemonade, which is the honest reason it goes over well at a backyard party. Per glass, in a tall glass or highball: 1 oz grenadine , the red layer, goes in first 1.5 oz vodka 3 oz lemonade 0.75 oz blue curaçao , the blue layer, floated on top Pour the grenadine into the bottom of the glass. Fill with ice. This matters, since the ice gives the middle layer something to sit on. Add the vodka and lemonade. Then pour the blue curaçao slowly over the back of a spoon so it settles on top instead of sinking. Three colors, one drink, no special equipment. Red, White & Blue Sangria The make-ahead option, and the one that scales without much thought. Build it in a pitcher an hour ahead, keep it cold, pour when people arrive. Serves about 6: 1 bottle white wine , dry, which keeps the fruit readable where a heavy red just turns everything murky 1/2 cup triple sec or vodka Strawberries and raspberries fo