Whether you are spending the Fourth of July up north or enjoying the fireworks closer to home, Haskell’s once again has you covered with some inventive cocktails to ensure that your Fourth of July is filled with boozy festivities.
The Fourth of July is Independence Day, not Independence Evening, so we have a few drinks for you to enjoy before the sun sets.
After you have enjoyed your morning coffee and you are ready to begin brunch, we recommend two classic drinks, the Bloody Mary and the Mimosa. These classic drinks might not scream Fourth of July, but with the use of some creative garnishes, we will have you singing “America, The Beautiful” in no time.
To save you the fuss, we have several Bloody Mary mixes for you to choose from. We recommend Filthy Bloody Mary Mix, Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary, or the Spooky Horseradish Bloody Mary Mix, but if you are feeling a little more entrepreneurial and want to do it yourself, here is a great recipe:
Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher and serve in a glass over ice. Another great option is to exclude alcohol from the recipe and allow your guests to add vodka, tequila, or nothing to their choosing.
We love two things about Bloody Marys: One, you can make them to your liking, and they will be even more delicious. Want them a little more spicy? Add extra Tabasco. Want them more citrusy? Add more lemon juice. Don’t have lemons? Substitute lime juice. There are so many different ways you can modify the drink.
Two, the garnishes are really what makes a delicious drink—they are like a drink with an appetizer. To make your Bloody Mary “Fourth of July Approved,” we recommend adding red, white, and bleu: cherry tomatoes, a hard-boiled egg, and bleu cheese-stuffed olives. A few of our other favorite garnishes are dill pickles, cornichons, celery, lemon and lime wedges, crispy bacon, and green olives.
For those of you who prefer donuts in the morning to eggs and bacon, this sweet beverage will be a great addition to your Fourth of July brunch. The mimosa is a simple, sweet drink:
In a glass, mix ⅓ sparkling wine and ⅔ orange juice. Feel free to change the proportions depending on your tastes. Once again, to make this drink “Fourth of July Approved,” the garnishes will add some patriotic flare. On a toothpick, add two or three blueberries, a cube of pineapple, and a strawberry.
As the day progresses and the party moves to lawn games, trips around the lake on the pontoon, or relaxing in the hammock, you want to ensure your cooler is filled with beer, seltzer, and water. You will also want to ensure you have an easy-drinking punch and some Jell-O shots ready to go.
Named for the husband of our founder Fritzi Haskell, Benny was a boxer and a convicted bootlegger. This punch is great to mix up and set on the deck next to a cooler of ice so guests can help themselves all afternoon. We love this drink because it is quick, easy, and delicious. We also love using gin (although vodka makes a good substitute) like Vikre Boreal Spruce Gin, Far North Gustaf Gin, or Du Nord Prominence Gin because it has a stronger pine flavor, making it perfect for weekends up north (sometimes for fun, we even add a sprig of an evergreen to the cup).
Ingredients:
For Benny’s Punch, combine all the ingredients into our 3.5-gallon Coleman jug and then stir.
You can choose to allow the lemonade to thaw before putting it into the jug but we have found that using frozen concentrate keeps the beverage cooler longer throughout the day. If you have a larger jug, you can either add more light beer or add club soda to top the jug off. Once the drink is ready, we like to garnish with the fruity brunch leftovers: pineapple, lemons, limes, blueberries, and strawberries.
These patriotic drinks are a great addition to any cooler. They are tasty and fun. The one catch is that they take a bit longer to prepare as each layer of Jell-O needs to be set before the next is added, so make sure you set aside enough time for these treats.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Another fun addition you can make to these Jell-O shots is to add some fruit into each layer, although they tend not to “shoot” as well when fruit gets in the way.
Don’t forget that kids love Jell-O, too! These are easy to make non-alcoholic. Just follow step one, the blue layer, for each layer, and you will have sparkly N/A Jell-O shots.
Soon enough, you will be back home, back at work, and the kids will be returning to school. Make this 4th of July one to remember by busting out these patriotic cocktails!