If you are going to celebrate the 4th of July, you have to go all out!

That’s why these 4th of July Cocktail Shooters are perfect. They have all the colors that make Independence Day a celebration. They are done up with red, white and blue accessories like straws, skewers, and sprinkle rims.

And the cocktail shot itself is delicious too! It’s simple to make, but does require a little prep. So let’s get started.

Ingredients to Make Red, White, & Blue 4th of July Cocktail Shooters

Smirnoff Red, White & Berry
Calypso Ocean Blue Lemonade
Tall 2 ounce Shot Glasses
Corn Syrup or Honey
Red, White & Blue Sprinkles
Maraschino Cherries
Red & Blue Sword Cocktail Skewers
American Flag Paper Straws

A Note about Maraschino Cherries: These traditional maraschino cherries are so delicious. They are much better than your regular candied cherries. But the color is not true red. It’s a deep, dark pink-red. If you want a true red, white and blue color palette, your best bet is the regular store bought version.

How to Prep Your Calypso Lemonade & Smirnoff Red, White & Berry

There’s no ice in this shot, thus chilling the ingredients is a MUST. Prep your Calypso Ocean Blue Lemonade by keeping it in an ice cold fridge. Your Smirnoff Red, White, & Berry is best kept in the freezer.

You could also shake the ingredients over ice in a shaker and then strain the ice.

How to Make a Sprinkle Rim on a Cocktail

Once you have your ingredients prepped, prep your shot glass next. For these 4th of July Cocktail Shooters, you will want a 2 ounce shot glass. And a tall glass is best.

To make the sprinkle rim dip just the top rim of the shot glass in honey or corn syrup to make a sticky coating. Corn syrup is best because of it’s clear color but both are thick enough to hold the sprinkles in place.

Once you dip the rim of the shot glass in the corn syrup, place your red, white and blue sprinkles on a shallow plate and dip and twist the rim into the sprinkles. You may want to remove the sprinkles on the inside of the glass and just leave the ones on the outside.

How to Make Red, White, and Blue 4th of July Cocktail Shooters

Once your sprinkle rim is finished, it’s time to pour! Make sure your Smirnoff Red, White & Berry and Calypso Ocean Blue Lemonade are ice cold. Fill 1/2 of the shot glass with Red, White & Berry. Then fill the remaining 1/2 of your glass with the lemonade!

And viola – your Red, White, and Blue 4th of July Cocktail Shooters are finished but you have to dress them up to make them cute!

How to Accessorize the Shots

Topping the cocktail shots with cherries is a must. Otherwise your shots are just blue. You have to add splashes of red to make it perfect for the 4th of July. And adding them to red and blue skewers is a must too because any other color ruins the effect.

American Flag straws make it super fun, but you could also add flags, a dollop of whipped cream or a tiny vanilla meringue cookie – whatever you like just as long as it’s perfectly colored red, white, and blue.

Last, you have to serve it on a red, white, and blue platter. The star candies truly make these cocktail shooters sparkle! Serve these cocktails immediately while they are still fresh and cold. Otherwise, you can keep them cold in the fridge for just a small amount of time. Just be sure your paper straws are on the side!

This cocktail is full of fun berry flavors and lemonade too! It’s delicious and perfect for summer. Calypso Ocean Blue Lemonade has hints of blueberry, blackberry, and blue raspberry flavors in it’s lemonade base. Smirnoff Red, White, and Berry blends perfectly in this drink because it’s full of cherry, citrus and blue raspberry flavors.

Substitutions:

If you can’t find Calypso Ocean Blue Lemonade, Hawaiian Punch Berry Blue Typhoon would be a great alternative. Any delicious and fruity drink will work. Now for the Smirnoff Red, White and Berry, that’s apparently only available “seasonally” although I have certainly seen it year round. Smirnoff Sour Berry Lemon Vodka could be a good replacement.

As long as you keep the berry, citrus, and lemon flavors prevalent across your ingredients and use a fun, flavored vodka, you can’t go wrong.