Red, White, and Blue Vodka Lemonade Slush
Celebrate your patriotism with a refreshing (and colorful!) slush, made from layers of crushed ice and flavors of grenadine, blue curacao, and spiked lemonade.
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Table of Contents
- About Red, White, and Blue Vodka Lemonade Slush
- What’s in a red, white, and blue VODKA slushiE?
- What type of vodka should you use?
- How to layer this slushie
- Can you make this drink in advance?
- Notes & tips for red, white, and blue drink:
- More red, white, and blue recipes
- More great drink recipes
- How to make this vodka lemonade slush
- Recipe Details
About Red, White, and Blue Vodka Lemonade Slush
There’s nothing better than an ice cold lemonade on a warm day, other than maybe a boozy ice cold lemonade. Or maybe an ice cold boozy lemonade with hints of berry and cherry.
And that’s where this vodka lemonade slush comes in. It’s a red, white, and blue drink that’s refreshing, flavorful, and perfect for all the warm-weather patriotic holidays.
What’s in a red, white, and blue VODKA slushiE?
To whip up your own patriotic drinks, make sure you have the following on hand:
- Lots of ice – Feel free to use more or less ice to your tastes and depending on the weather.
- Lemonade – Perfectly refreshing in hot weather and gives great flavor contrast.
- Vodka – Gives the lemonade layer a boozy kick.
- Blue Curacao – For the vibrant blue color and subtle berry flavor.
- Grenadine – A deep red with a sweet, cheery-like taste.
What type of vodka should you use?
With any mixed drink, it’s best to keep the spirits simple. Save the super-expensive vodka for enjoying on its own and use vodka with lower-to-mid-range price points for blending with other flavors.
As for my personal recommendation, I tend to use Smirnoff vodka for drinks like this.
How to layer this slushie
This recipe has been around for a few years, and the most common bit of reader feedback I get is this:
That the colors in this drink are not layered correctly. The layers are white, blue, and red and it should be red, white, and blue.
Some readers have even pointed out that the colors look more like the Russian flag than the American one.
But for the visual purists out there, I have some bad news:
The way you layer this drink isn’t a choice. To effectively create layers that will last, you need to consider the thickness (typically determined by the sugar content) of each liquid.
In this case, grenadine is thicker than Blue Curacao (so it’s at the bottom) and lemonade is thinner than both grenadine and Blue Curacao (so it’s at the top). This is why the drink is layered white, blue, and red, because it goes from thinnest consistency to thickest (and the thickest fluids will sink to the bottom). If you layered it any other way then the layers might not hold and the different colors would be more likely to bleed through, especially if the ice in the drink begins to melt.
However, just because the layers of this drink are in a specific order, that doesn’t mean you can’t serve and enjoy this slushie at a patriotic party. The colors red, white, and blue are still very much present and will easily fit the American theme.
Plus, this drink is delicious and a perfect cure for hot weather, which is when most Americans are out celebrating their patriotism.
Can you make this drink in advance?
For best results, I’d recommend blending and serving this drink just before serving.
The ice will not last long in the fridge and attempting to freeze the mixed layers will result in most of it being frozen into a block of ice (aside from the portions of alcohol that will resist freezing).
Notes & tips for red, white, and blue drink:
- You’ll also need a trusty food processor for this recipe. I bought the Ninja Blender System almost 10 years ago and it hasn’t failed me yet!
- To help keep drinks cooler for longer, refrigerate the grenadine, blue curacao, and lemonade (or even let them sit in the freezer for 30 minutes) before blending them with ice.
More red, white, and blue recipes
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How to make this vodka lemonade slush
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – In a food processor, blend grenadine and ice until slushy, then pour a layer (about 1/3 the size of the glass) into the bottom of your chosen glasses.
Step 2 – Blend blue curacao and ice until slushy, then gently add another 1/3 layer on top of the grenadine.
Step 3 – To finish off, blend the lemonade, vodka, and ice, then top off your drinks with a final layer.
Step 4 – Serve and enjoy!
Red, White, and Blue Vodka Lemonade Slush
Ingredients
- 9 cup ice, separated. Note: may need up to 12 cups.
Instructions
- Using a food processor, crush mix 3 cups of ice and grenadine syrup together until slushy. Note: You need this layer to be extra thick, so if needed, add up to 1 cup more ice and blend. When finished, set aside.
- Repeat the step for the Blue Curacao, blending with 3 cups of ice until slushy. Like the last layer, you want this to be extra thick. If needed, add up to 1 more cup of ice and blend. Set aside.
- Add vodka, lemonade, and remaining 3 cups of ice to the blender and mix until slushy. It’s not as important for this layer to be thick, but it should be comparable to the others. Add up to 1 more cup of ice if needed. When finished, set aside.
- Prepare drinks by layering the flavors in this order: grenadine, blue curacao, and finish with the vodka lemonade on top.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
