Celebratory, Fresh Fourth of July Cocktails
Forgo novelty drinks for real fruit-influenced flavor profiles
With such creativity dedicated to the world of cocktail-making, it’s become easy to focus on a particular style or type of ingredient. With Fourth of July drinks frequently dominated by novelty items and colorful synthetic materials, we thought we’d keep it fresh—literally—with fruit components. As with all mixed drink menus, you’ll still find cordials and bitters and simple syrup but each of the six options draws immense flavor from the fruity bits. From a better version of the popular frosé to a banana-blended concoction, all varieties of fruits are here (and even some vegetables). Celebrate responsibly, of course, but get ready to impress with a lot of unexpected options that taste natural.
Masskara
Light and delightful, the Masskara is built upon the Philippines’ Don Papa Rum. There’s elderflower and lemon, but the fresh blackberries lend it the strongest punch of flavor and color.
.5 oz. Don Papa Rum
4 fresh blackberries
.5 oz. elderflower cordial
.5 oz. lemon juice
1 egg white
Grapefruit bitters
Edible flowers
Muddle blackberries. Add rum, elderflower cordial, lemon juice and egg white. Shake vigorously. Add two drops of grapefruit bitters. Pour into short-stem wine glass, garnish with more blackberries.
Watermelon Gin Julep
This is a signature summer cocktail from The Botanist Gin—which hails from Islay, Scotland, home of some of the world’s peatiest scotches. A variation on the classic julep (with tremendous liberties taken), the cocktail’s watermelon and mint combination creates pure, brilliant refreshment.
2 oz. The Botanist Gin
.50 oz. simple syrup
5 fresh watermelon chunks
6-8 mint leaves
Muddle mint leaves and watermelon in simply syrup at the bottom of julep cup. Add Botanist. Stir and pack cup with pebble ice. Encourage the formation of frost on the exterior of the glass.
Café Medi Frosé
Regardless of your opinions on rosé market saturation or even the pink wine’s virtues, it’s not going away—and there are plenty of celebratory ways to consume it. Thankfully, NYC’s Café Medi has invented a quality version of the Frosé (or frozen rosé). A homemade fresh strawberry puree lends a fruity fortitude—and it’s more than just fun.
5 oz. rosé
2 oz. fresh strawberry puree
.5 oz. cane syrup
Two scoops of ice
Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend for about 20 seconds and pour into wine glass. Garnish with a blackberry and strawberry spear. To make strawberry puree for cocktails, place fresh, cleaned strawberries in a blender or mixer with a couple of dashes of lemon juice and one or two pinches of sugar.
The Take Out
From Montauk’s new FLAGSHIP seafood restaurant, helmed by Chef Eric Miller and Adam Miller, The Take Out’s the most intelligent banana daiquiri on the market. Of course, there’s a half a banana in here, but there’s also fresh pineapple, lime and of course, rum. This isn’t your average blended drink, at all.
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
.25 oz. demerara syrup
.5 oz. cinnamon syrup
.5 oz. lime juice
.75 oz. fresh pineapple juice
.25 oz. Rum Fire
.75 oz. Santa Teresa Claro
1 oz. Santa Teresa 1796
1 oz. water
Half a banana
Blend all ingredients at high speed for one minute, add to Frosty Factory. Serve frozen in take out container glassware. Garnish with pineapple wedge and edible flower.
Del Campo
Created by Jaime Salas, the brand ambassador for Milagro Tequila, the dynamic Del Campo was inspired by the green juice served during breakfast in Mexico. Salas created something with “refreshing vegetal and tropical notes along with the savory notes of the chicharron [that] awaken the senses.” We have to agree that there’s something powerful about this drink.
1.5 oz. Milagro Silver (bacon fat washed)
.5 oz. lime juice
.75 oz. celery juice
1 oz. nopal (optional)
1 oz. fresh pineapple juice
.5 oz. cilantro or parsley
Chicharron salt garnish
With a half lime, rinse around the rim of a rocks glass and salt with Chicharron salt. Separately, combine all ingredients and shake well. Strain mix over fresh ice into the Chicharron-salted glass.
A Sudden Blush
Adding raspberry puree to Lillet Rosé results in a sweet, tart summer drink—but enhancing both with a dry gin and fino sherry leads to botanicals galore bursting from within. We’ve been finding a lot do with Lillet lately, but here the rosé shines. And, if you switch out “ounces” with “parts” this becomes a drink you can scale up to a punch easily.
2 oz. Lillet rosé
1 oz. London dry gin
1 oz. Fino sherry
1 oz. raspberry puree
1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
Blackberries, mint and raspberries
Combine all ingredients over ice—in the instance of making a punch-sized portion,
combine over large blocks of ice.
Hero image by Benjamin Lozovsky/BFA for Maison St-Germain, all other images courtesy of respective brands
