Patriotic Punch for the 4th of July

It’s monsoon season again here in Georgia. Doesn’t Mother Nature know tomorrow is the 4th of July and celebrations are planned? Rain or no rain, the festivities will go on and we will enjoy every minute, even if the sunshine is in liquid form.

Speaking of liquids, today I’m sharing an easy to make, red, white and blue patriotic punch. It’s perfect for a 4th of July celebration, especially for the kiddos.

Patriotic Punch for 4th of July, Patriotic Holidays

 

There are several of these type punches online using various kinds of ingredients. A lot of the recipes use red fruit punch for the “red” part of the recipe but since I’m not a big fan of fruit punch, I decided to go with something else.

You can make this fruit punch in a large glass beverage server as shown below.

Punch

Photo above from Terry’s Village

 

Or, you can mix it in individual glasses which is what I chose to do.

4th of July Patriotic Punch Recipe

 

The Magic:

The magical and somewhat tricky part of this recipe is figuring out how to keep the different drinks/colors from blending into each other. It’s actually easy to keep the red and blue drink separate (you’ll see why in a sec) but when you pour the “white” drink in last, which is what all the recipes I found called for, it tends to blend right into the blue. I couldn’t find any examples online where the white hadn’t just sort of blended right in.

You’ll notice in the picture below, though the “white” drink was added last, you really don’t see the white part of the drink very well.  It more or less blended right into the blue drink. (The whitish section you see toward the bottom isn’t drink, it’s just the where the glass frosted over.)

Punch

 

Well, if it’s a red, white and blue drink, I want the colors to all be separate.  I’m stubborn that way.  After two failed attempts, I came up with a technique that worked beautifully every time.  I made my punch in individual glasses but this should work great for a large beverage server, too. Although, as Cecilia pointed out in the comments, if it’s in a large container, you’ll be drinking each drink/flavor one after the other instead of being able to taste all of them as you wish.  So I vote for serving this punch in individual glasses.

Here’s what you’ll need and you’ll find a printable recipe at the end of this post.

Cranberry Juice (I used Ocean Spray)
Blue Sports Drink (I used Gatorade’s G2 Blueberry Pomegranate)
Diet 7-Up
1 bag of crushed ice (if your refrigerator doesn’t make crushed ice)

Note: All of the above drinks need to be chilled in advance of making your punch.

 

Patriotic Punch:

To make your patriotic punch, start by filling up you container (a mason jar/glass in my case) almost to the very top with ice.

Next pour the cranberry juice in until it fills about 1/3 of the container.

TIP:   I tilted the glass so the cranberry juice ran down the inside of the glass since I  didn’t want any red-drink residue on the ice when I added the other colors/beverages.

Patriotic Punch for 4th of July Party

 

Each time you add a drink/new color, the ice will melt down a little.  So, you’ll need to add additional ice cubes to fill the container back up near the top after adding each color.

Next, add the blueberry-pomegranate Gatorade, again filling up about 1/3 more of the glass or container.  As you add the blue drink, pour it slooowly and pour it directly on top of an ice cube so the ice cube will slow it down even further. The blue part should stay fairly separate from the red.  This is due to the sugar content of the drinks.  Cranberry juice has more sugar and is heavier so that’s why it went in first.

Patriotic Punch for 4th of July Party

 

My Secret Weapon:

The Diet 7-up goes in last and here’s the way I FINALLY got the 7-up to stop mixing into the blue drink.  Instead of adding more ice cubes after pouring in the blue drink, I added CRUSHED iced.  That’s it!  The crushed ice made all the difference!

My refrigerator serves both regular cubes and crushed ice.  If your refrigerator doesn’t do that, you’ll need to pick up some crushed ice at the grocery store.

Patriotic Punch for 4th of July Party

So, pour the Diet 7-Up slooowly onto the crushed ice, filling up the remainder of your glass or container. Since the crushed iced is smaller and  more dense, it does a better job of stopping the 7-up from mixing in. YAY!  Plus, the dense crushed ice helps add to the white appearance at the top.

Patriotic Punch for 4th of July Party

 

This method should work well in a large beverage server, too.

Wouldn’t this drink be pretty with one of those little flag toothpicks on top, with blueberries and strawberries on the toothpick.

You’ll find a printable recipe for this Patriotic Punch at the end of this post.

4th of July Patriotic Punch Recipe

 

Update: I made this punch as part of this tablescape on the porch. Table setting can be viewed here: Dining on the Porch for the 4th of July. 

4th of July Table Setting with Warren Kimble Colonial Flag Dishware 2_wm

 

4th of July Patriotic Punch Recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Patriotic Punch for the 4th of July

Here's a festive drink that's sure to delight your family and friends. It's great for any patriotic celebration and since it's non-alcoholic, even the kids can have a glass.
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Beverage
Author: Susan (Between Naps on the Porch)

Ingredients

  • Cranberry Juice I used Ocean Spray
  • Blue Sports Drink I used Gatorade's G2 Blueberry Pomegranate
  • Diet 7-Up
  • 1 bag of crushed ice if your refrigerator doesn't make crushed ice

Instructions

  • Fill up a glass beverage server or glass almost to the top with ice cubes
  • Pour cranberry juice in until it fills about 1/3 of the container.
  • Note: Each time you add a new drink color, the ice will melt down a little, so you'll need to add additional ice cubes to fill the container back up.
  • Add the blueberry-pomegranate Gatorade, again filling up about 1/3 more of the glass or container. As you add the blue beverage, pour it slowly and directly on top of an ice cube so the ice cube will slow it down even further.
  • Add additional ice to replace what melts but this time add crushed ice instead of ice cubes. The density of the crushed ice helps keep the 7-up from blending in to the blue and adds to the "whitish" appearance.
  • Finally, add Diet 7-Up, filling up the glass/container to the top.
  • Garnish with a flag toothpick with strawberries and blueberries attached.

Notes

This recipe is probably best created in individual glasses as opposed to a large, glass beverage server. That way all the flavors can be sampled and enjoyed at once instead of one at the time coming from a beverage server.

 

Happy 4th of July!

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Comments

  1. Does it have to be diet 7up? Can you add alcohol to it for the adults? (: Thanks for the awesome recipe! I will be using this tomorrow!

    • Kayla, I think the way it works is the diet 7-up has less sugar (I guess none) so that makes it lighter. Probably any clear colored diet soda would work. For the white part, to start with I tried a soda called “Mountain Dew White Out” because it was whiter than 7-up. Well, since it wasn’t diet, it sank right through the blue. So any drink with sugar doesn’t appear to work for the white section. If you add alcohol, maybe you could add it to the cranberry juice so it won’t matter if it weighs it down some, and just tell the adults to stir their drinks after you give them out. You can try a test drink in a glass and maybe try adding the alcohol to each color in equal amounts…just not sure how it will work. Let me know if you try it, would love to know what does and doesn’t work.

  2. Susan-your theory on the amount of sugar (or lack of) in each beverage is correct–and crushed ice
    on the top with diet 7Up or diet Sprite is right on. I tried making cranberry & blue Gatorade ice cubes
    thinking that would work but it didn’t. Happy 4th! We’re having that all American meal—pizza!
    And apple dumplings w/ice cream. My granddaughter loves pizza.

  3. EXCELLENT idea – and of course two things: if you don’t have a crushed ice dispenser just put your ice in a freezer bag and whack it a while with a hammer. : – )

    BUT if you DO go to buy ice – purchased ice is made different and is clear and real purdy for special occassions. So perhaps clear ice for the red and blue and home crushed ice for top – more white then, too b/c of oxygenation .
    : – )

    Now when should I put in the VODKA?????????????????
    JK. Kinda.

  4. Girlfriend, you are brilliant! Wish I was going to be at your celebration tomorrow as I know it is going to be simply fabulous! 😀
    Hugs and Happy July 4th,
    Beth P

  5. Sandi Lee says

    Thanks so much Susan-that’s what will be in my Mason jars tomorrow instead of sweet tea!! You are such a blessing. Have a great 4th. We are having an indoor Southern 4th because of the rain-friend chicken, corn on the cob, slaw and potato salad and strawberries and blueberries over vanilla ice cream in Mason jars for dessert. My Mason jars are really getting a workout this holiday!!

  6. Sounds GOOD and not too hard now that you figured out the crushed ice deal:) Have a wonderful 4th, Susan! XO, Pinky

  7. This is a fantastic idea…your research has paid off! Now you need to experiment with red and green juice for Christmas!

    Have a great holiday, Susan!

    XO,
    Jane

    • 🙂 That would be fun. Let’s see, we could use the cranberry again for the red, but what would work for green? Maybe diet sprite or 7-up with green food coloring added. 🙂

      • There was a green Gatorade… have not noticed if it’s still on the shelves or not. Thanks for sharing this… will try it next patriotic holiday!

  8. Susan, this is fabulous! Thank you for sharing the directions! I would have never thought of adding crushed ice to the top! I love this! It’s so festive! Happy Fourth of July!

  9. These look so festive! My “white” liquid of choice would be vodka, but I’d settle for seltzer if that didn’t work.

  10. This sounds awesome and so fresh for a hot evening with friends to celebrate Old Glory! Thank you for the récipe dear Susan! Have a wonderful and safe celebration weekend too! A question: Will TT be open tomorrow?
    FABBY

  11. Susan, this reminds me of the science experiments that I did with my students to teach density. They would have liked it much better if I had used drinks like this so that they could have drunk their experiment!

  12. Hi, Susan!
    Your patriotic punch looks great, I think I’ll be trying this on Saturday, and I’ll be making it in individual glasses, like you did, because… otherwise will you not have only red and only blue and in the end only white liquid coming out from that spigot? 🙁
    Hmmm… I guess I should have paid more attention in physics at school… LOL
    ~Hugs to you~
    Cecilia
    P.S. Susan, I’m sorry you are having rain, but I love that “liquid sunshine”! 🙂

  13. Peggy Thal says

    Beautiful drink for the 4th of July!! Love it, thanks so much. Rain, rain go away in Virginia too. I think the weather is looking sunny. Finally! Happy red, white and blue.

  14. You, my dear, are BRILLIANT. Your perseverance is inspiring. 🙂

  15. Jane ~ Felsham Hall says

    Susan, I love your tenaciousness! We all get the benefit of your stubborn insistence on figuring stuff out! Lol. Cute idea and great looking drink. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  16. It won’t stop raining in Ohio, either, Susan! Thank you for figuring out how to do the red white and blue drink. As my grand daughter would say, “It’s bootiful!”

  17. ~Susan~
    Happy 4th!
    What a cute drink ! so do you taste all 3 at once or 1 at a time?? hehe 😉
    Have a fun day ! the sun is trying to come out !!!
    Paula
    In

  18. HAPPY 4th of JULY Susan and to your other American readers.

    Thanks so much for the recipe. Will have to tweak it of course to be just red and white for our next Canada Day celebration (just celebrated on July 1st). Hmmm, I wondering if I were to serve it in a large beverage dispenser if I could add or suspend with clear fishing line a red maple leaf of some kind in its center. (Memo to myself to try……☺)

    Wishing you a day full of sunshine (we were fortunate) as like you, we have had nothing but rain. Out of thirty days in June we had only eight full days of sunshine! -Brenda-

  19. Thanks for the tip! I am making these for the kids today…

  20. Beautiful! I want to try this. I saw a while back on Sandra Lee Food Network show poured liquor or colored mixers slowly on the back of a spoon held over the glass to keep layers separate. Might be worth a little try. I loved this year’s table. If you colored water only, that huge dispenser would be cute. Would it work with all water or does it have to be three kinds of liquid? You put my mind on overload. Lol.

    • Gayla, I think it has to be different liquids because it’s the amount of sugar each drink has that makes the difference. The liquid that has the most sugar in it is the heaviest and is the one that goes in first. Sorry about the overload. lol I’m always on overload! 🙂

  21. Susan, I would love to make these in individual glasses (so we can enjoy all the flavors at once) at my son’s Eagle Court of Honor celebration. I’m just afraid of the time and the ice melting while the ceremony is on (lasts around an hour). Any suggestions? Or should we go ahead and make it in a large beverage dispenser?

  22. Susan, when I made it for this tablescape here: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/dining-on-the-porch-for-the-4th-of-july/
    it stayed separated throughout the time I was taking the pictures and that was in July outdoors, so it lasted pretty well. It probably took me 20-30 minutes to take the photos. Is there anyway you could mix the drinks around 20 minutes before the ceremony ends? I just don’t know if the colors would stay separated for a whole hour, although I was surprised how long they stayed separated when I created the table setting and photographed it.

  23. Christina McCall says

    Susan, what are your thoughts on using regular Gingerale on top for the white liquid?

    Thanks, Christina

    • I personally can’t stand diet drinks or drinks with artificial sweeteners, but I think the reason the diet 7-Up works is because it isn’t weighted with sugar. If you use add the first two layers and then once they are in, add a bunch of crushed ice to the top, before you pour in the Gingerale, that may work. I found using crushed ice for that last layer really helped since the crush ice has less gaps in between the cubes…helps hold the white liquid near the top, plus the ice itself looks white. So try the Gingerale, just use crushed out for the upper third of the glass. Chrstina, let me know if Gingerale works…would love to know!

  24. Susan, here is a question 2 years later in 2015. I am thinking of making some of these drinks for some of my 18 guests who may not want my alcoholic patriotic sangria. I have some red, white and blue straws to use in my glasses. My question is that when you start to drink through a straw, do the 3 different drinks all begin to mix together in the glass? I would think so. In other words, does the drinker get a mix of the drinks, or do you mostly drink one at a time? I suppose this sounds really silly, but I would like to hear from someone who has made and drunk these before. BTW, I am having 3 tables of 6 and your wonderful tablescape ideas have given me such wonderful ideas! Are you all well now?

    • Thanks, Martha! Yep, I’m almost totally back to normal, now…the antibiotic worked great! I’m just tired because the Amoxicillian kind of wires me up and I have trouble falling asleep. But I feel a billion times better! 🙂
      When I made that drink, I didn’t use a straw to drink it, so I’m not sure if you would get all the flavors through a straw. I think with a straw, a person would just move the straw the different layers, drinking the part of the drink they wanted to tasted. Eventually, the movement of tilting it to drink it, or moving the straw around starts to mix the colors/flavors all together. They pretty much just stay separated while the drinks are sitting still on the table or wherever you’re serving them. Any movement and they will start to mix.

  25. This looks perfect for Summer entertaining, so refreshing aesthetically pleasing for the 4th! Thank you for sharing!

  26. Wonderful – I can’t wait to make that drink!! Thanks!

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