Cheers, America! Fourth of July Cocktail Recipes for Wherever You're Celebrating

Cheers, America! (Photo: Eyeliam/Flickr)

July 4th is on a Friday this year, which can mean only one thing — extended celebration. (And no day-after hangovers in the office. Praise Liberty!)

That means you’ll need plenty of drinks to lubricate your festivities. Lucky for you, Yahoo! Travel polled their master mixologist friends around the country to find the perfect drink recipes for Independence Day, whether you’re partying at the beach, in the mountains, on a roof, or from the back of a truck outside a stadium.

These cocktail recipes come from some of the best bartenders in the U.S.A. Party on ’Merica! And don’t forget the fireworks.

Mezcal Last Word cocktail (Photo: Redbury, Miami)

AT THE BEACH: Mezcal Last Word

The original Last Word is a classic that calls for gin. The bar staff at Lorzeno — tucked inside the Redbury hotel on South Beach in Miami — swaps out the gin for mezcal, tequila’s hearty cousin. The result is something crisp and citrusy, with a hint of smoke and slight anise from the Chartreuse. It’s refreshing and easy to create, making it perfect for a beach party.

¾ oz. mezcal (try Vida by Del Maguey)
¾ oz. Maraschino liqueur
¾ oz. Green Chartreuse
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
A few sprigs of fresh cilantro

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange peel.

Related: Special Report: America’s Cleanest Beaches

The Real McCoy cocktail (Photo: Paul Wagtouicz)

CABIN IN THE WOODS: Ward III’s Real McCoy
If your Independence Day involves getting off the grid at a secluded cabin, we suggest whiskey. Nothing improves the view from a quiet porch quite like a good cocktail. This one comes courtesy of Kenneth McCoy, co-owner at Ward III in New York City.

1 1/2 oz. whiskey (can use a bourbon, rye or a blended Scotch)
1 oz. Cynar
½ oz. lemon Juice
1 bottle ginger beer

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and shake vigorously. Double strain over ice into a highball; top with ginger beer and garnish with an orange twist.

Innisfree Cup cocktail — make a pitcher (Photo: Patrick O’Brien-Smith)

A BACKYARD BBQ: Innisfree Cup (by the pitcher)

Bartender Gabriella Mlynarczyk’s drinks satiate the thirsty masses at Ink in Los Angeles. When she’s not doing that, she blogs about her cocktails at lalovingcup.com. And when she’s got 20 people coming for a mid-summer BBQ? She makes cocktails by the pitcher. This decision allows you to enjoy the party instead of “bartending” it.

1 bottle of Irish whiskey (Jameson works great)
3 and ¼ cups strong brewed mint tea, chilled
¼ cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 cups Cynar
1 oz. Angostura bitters
8-10 mint leaves, per glass
2 bushy mint sprigs, per glass, for garnish
1 handful of mint for adding to pitcher

Add sugar, Angostura bitters and ¼ cup of mint tea to pitcher and muddle to dissolve the sugar cubes. Add the whiskey, Cynar and remaining tea and stir. Drop in mint sprigs and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. When serving, line the bottom of each glass with about 8-10 mint leaves, pile ice on top to fill glass, pour in the chilled whiskey tea mix and garnish with mint sprigs and a straw. Serves 12.

Related: Cool Off with These Best Ice Cream Shops in America

Classic Tanqueray & Tonic cocktails (Photo: Lush Life)

TAILGATING: Tanqueray & Tonic
You’re drinking on the flatbed of a truck. Keep it classy, America. Also — keep it simple. The Gin & Tonic might come courtesy of the British, but think about it, in a way so did this wonderful country (ahem). Serve a really good one and no one’s likely to mind that irony. We like Tanqueray gin’s official version.

1 1/4 oz. Tanqueray No. Ten gin
3 oz. Fresh Bottled Tonic
1 lime wedge

Pour gin over ice into a highball glass. Squeeze lime and drop into glass. Fill with tonic and mix.

Related: 5 States Worth Road Tripping to This Weekend to Buy Fireworks for the Fourth

Southern Americano cocktail (Photo: John Murden)

CAMPING: Southern Americano

“This drink is super easy to build,” offers creator Thomas Leggett. He’s the bar manager of The Roosevelt in Richmond, Virginia. “No matter what cup or glass you have, it’s just equal parts Campari and dry vermouth — topped with a bit of Cheerwine to taste. Light and refreshing, it has some bitterness that goes well after you’ve stuffed yourself with too many hotdogs and cheeseburgers.”

1 1/2 oz. Campari
1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (We love Dolin)
Cheerwine (or any cherry-flavored soft drink)

Add Campari and vermouth to empty Collins glass. Fill completely with ice and top with Cheerwine. Garnish with orange slice.

Cucumber Lemonade cocktail (Photo: Farmers Fishers & Bakers)

GLAMPING: Cucumber Lemonade
There’s no shame in admitting you don’t love being covered in bug spray, sticking to the bottom of a tent, trying to sleep in what feels like an oven, after eating canned baked beans. If you’re idea of camping means an actual cabin, a real bed, and the only thing you’re eating from a can is caviar, then upgrade plain lemonade to a refreshing digestif. Use the extra cucumber slices for reducing eye puffiness in the morning. Big thanks to Torrance Swain of Farmers Fishers & Bakers in Washington, D.C. for this recipe.

2 oz. silver tequila (try the new Aquariva Blanco)
¾ oz. Combier
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. simple syrup
2 cucumber slices
Club soda

Place cucumbers, lemon juice and simple syrup in the bottom of a shaker and muddle. Add Combier and tequila with ice and shake. Strain over fresh ice in highball glass. Top with club soda and garnish with cucumber and lemon wheels

Related: Keeping Up With the Hamptons? 13 Secret Places — Where You Won’t Find the Kardashians

La Perla Rosa blended cocktail (Photo: Jenny Adams)

PARTY AT THE LAKE: La Perla Rosa
It’s almost anti-American to not drink a slushie blender drink on Fourth of July. Just to make sure your patriotism is firmly secured, we got you a red one. Well… maybe it’s pink. Whatever. It’s delicious. America! This recipe comes from the genius of Jackie Patterson of Hard Water in San Francisco.

1 1/2 oz. Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
1 oz. fresh orange juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. Campari
½ oz. Monin Passionfruit syrup

Place all ingredients in a blender with two cups of ice. Blend on high. Pour into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange wheel.

Hint Water Mango-Grapefruit Margartia (Photo: Hint Water)

PARTY ON A ROOFTOP: Mango-Grapefruit Margarita
Hint Water was kind enough to give us a good one for those watching their waistlines. Created by their resident dietician Corinne Dobbas, MS, RD, the drink uses their no-cal fruit-infused water as a mixer — and is only 145 calories. So you can look good on that rooftop drinking it too.

1 1/2 oz. Silver tequila
1 1/2 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 oz. Hint Water Mango-Grapefruit
½ oz. triple sec
1-2 lime slices

In a shaker with ice, combine fresh-squeezed lime juice, Hint Water Mango-Grapefruit, tequila, and triple sec. Shake and strain into an ice filled glass. Garnish with lime.

Related: Pig Blood, Avocados, Irish Moss: The Strange Ingredients of Summer’s Tastiest Cocktails

Negroni Rose cocktail (Photo: Elixir)

COUCH SURFING: Negroni Rose
You just can’t be bothered to leave the house? Hey… we get it. Fourth of July falls on a Friday and, sometimes, Friday’s are best spent in your pajamas. Indulge with this stiff and stirred option, courtesy of San Francisco barman, H. Joseph Ehrmann. If you live in the city and can manage to peel off yourself off the couch, visit his other cocktails at his bar Elixir.

2 oz. Square One Botanical (infused vodka, available at premium liquor stores)
¾ oz. Aperol
¾ oz. sweet red vermouth
Orange twist

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Stir well and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist. Classic option: Build on the rocks in a tumbler and garnish with an orange twist.

Svedka’s Firecracker cocktail (Photo: Svedka)

WHEREVER YOU ARE: Svedka’s Firecracker

We didn’t have a location that this cocktail belonged in … because this cocktail belongs at every party. It’s liquid patriotism. A tribute in a tall, cold glass. It’s a cocktail version of a Bomb Pop popsicle, and it turns purple when you stir it up. What more could one really ask for this summer? Courtesy of Svedka Vodka’s mixologist Jason Littrell.

1 1/2 oz. Svedka Vodka
1 oz. watermelon schnapps
½ oz. cranberry juice
½ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. simple syrup
¼ oz. blue curaçao
Soda water

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add watermelon schnapps and cranberry juice, then carefully add lemon, simple syrup, and Svedka to create the white layer, then VERY carefully layer the blue curaçao to create the blue level, and gently top with club soda. Garnish with fresh watermelon pieces (and make sure to tell guests to stir before drinking).

Even amazing fireworks are better with a drink in hand. (Photo: Piero Sierra/Flickr)

Jenny Adams is a freelance writer/photographer whose cocktail and bar coverage regularly appears in Travel + Leisure and Robb Report. In researching this piece, she encountered enough Blue Curaçao to smart a Smurf.

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