Happy Hour Preparations: Patriotic Potables

For many people, the 4th of July means a long weekend, a nearby body of water, dangerously close fireworks, and a cooler of refreshments. With the holiday falling on a Friday this year, hopefully most everyone will be able to partake in a frosty beverage or two. Below are three recipes patriotic enough to salute – and yup, they come in the colors red, white and blue.
Rhubarb Negroni
(this recipe is from Brooks Reitz of Charleston, SC, the mad mixologist behind the Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.)
1 1/4 oz. gin
1 oz. sweet vermouth
3/4 oz. Zucca Rabarbaro (a rhubarb-based liqueur)
Ice cubes
Combine all ingredients and stir with ice cubes until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with orange peel.

Grasshopper
(this recipe is from bar/restaurant Péché in Austin, TX)
2 cups vanilla ice cream
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon crème de cacao
1 tablespoon green crème de menthe
mint leaves
In a blender, combine the ice cream, milk, crème de cacao and crème de menthe. Blend until smooth. Pour into coupe glass, garnish with mint leaves. This is best enjoyed as an after-dinner “adult milkshake.”
Lake House
(One of the few occasions where the novelty blue liqueur is allowed. The brand below is actually made on the island of Curaçao.)
1 ounce Genuine Curaçao Liqueur
2 ounces white rum
1 ounce lime juice
1 cup crushed ice
2 ounces Coco Lopez
cream of coconut
Throw all ingredients in a blender. Pulse at high speed until blended. Serve in Mai Tai glass with a tiny flag garnish.
Written by Lindsey Kate Reynolds. The Southern Foodways Alliance is a member-supported nonprofit organization based at the University of Mississippi. SFA partners with corporations and foundations who are committed to the SFA mission of documenting, studying, and celebrating the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. SFA stages symposia across the country on food culture, produces documentary films, collects oral histories, sponsors scholarship, and publishes provocative writing.