It will officially be 4^th of July weekend in a couple of hours, and it’s an extra long weekend if you’re lucky enough to be off on Monday, so naturally I have to weigh in with a patriotic cocktail.  Last year I gave you recipes for two 4^th of July drinks, neither of which was a masterpiece of patriotic colors.  I tried, but the best I could do was one blue drink and another whose blue came from blueberries and red that came from strawberries.

And now it’s the Friday before the holiday and I am behind again.   But I am going to cut myself some slack and not worry about coming up with the most creative cocktail on the planet.   Earlier this week I was thinking, “What’s more American than apple pie?  I’ll create an apple pie martini!”  I thought combining apple pie liqueur, spiced rum and vanilla rum would result in an apple pie libation to die for.  But it just didn’t do it for me.  So I added some RumChata- it’s tough to go wrong there.  Again, it just didn’t taste right.  I drank about half of it, but when I poured the other half down the drain, I realized I couldn’t pass that recipe on.  Although if anyone wants to try that flavor combo, knock yourself out, you might love it!

So at this late date, I give you the Star Spangled Sipper.  Okay, so the drink itself is actually clear (which we will accept as the white part), and the blue and red colors come from blueberries and strawberries again.  It’s still a delicious and light cocktail to enjoy at any number of 4^th of July celebrations- barbeques, fireworks shows, picnics, outdoor concerts- wherever you happen to be this weekend.  It may not be the most creative drink I’ve ever crafted, but I think you’ll find it very tasty!

Star Spangled Sipper

1 ounce white rum

1 ounce peach vodka

2 ounces white cranberry juice

2-3 ounces raspberry lime sparkling soda (I used DeerPark)

Fill a tall glass with ice, then add all ingredients.  Garnish with those all-American blueberries and strawberries- and if you want to get fancy, use a small star-shaped cookie cutter and make star garnishes using a thinly sliced apple.  Beautiful!