^{Such a festive yet refreshing swap for those Fourth of July poolside drinks. With less calories and lots of fruit you’ll be able to celebrate Independence Day looking stylish and feeling lean with this colorful cocktail. Please note this is for those 21 and over – Please drink responsibly.}

I absolutely love celebrating July 4th in Florida! The boats are on the water, the coolers are packed full of drinks and the barbecues are hot! This holiday is only meant to be celebrated outdoors.

This is also a great weekend to let go and indulge a little bit. Between the BBQ food and the beers, the calories add up even if we pretend not to care. More importantly, we forget to hydrate and cool off! This drink alone is absolutely perfect for everything!

It’s cool, it’s got the vodka, but it’s light and full of antioxidant rich fruits. You MUST eat the fruit at the end too, it’s also soaked in booze. So that’s that! A balance of fruit and booze, what’s not to love!? I think it’s perfect for the 4th of July!

I also sit and think about strawberries and blueberries making a guest appearance in some sort of dessert form as a child around this time of year. This is like a grown up way of eating your favorite berries! Plus, who is going to argue that the colors in this drink aren’t perfect for the holiday?

It’s pretty simple too. Soak some of your berries in orange liqueur on your way to the party. Make sure you bring some chilled tonic water and vodka and this will be so simple to throw together on the spot. If anything, all your party friends will be pretty impressed that you came up with a red, white and blue drink that gets the job done while staying with the theme.

Drink up and enjoy this refreshing cocktail by the grill with your closest friends!

5 from 1 vote

Red, White & Berry Vodka Tonic

Print Recipe

Such a festive yet refreshing swap for those Fourth of July poolside drinks. With less calories and lots of fruit you’ll be able to celebrate Independence Day looking stylish and feeling lean with this colorful cocktail. Please note this is for those 21 and over – Please drink responsibly.

Prep Time:45

Total Time:45

Ingredients

⅓ cup strawberries quartered
⅓ cup blueberries
4 packets zero calorie sweetener divided
2 ounce orange liqueur divided
½ cup raspberries
3 ounces vodka
16 ounces diet tonic water
fresh squeezed lime (optional)

Instructions

Wash and cut strawberries and place in a bowl with one ounce of orange liqueur and 2 packets of zero calorie sweetener. In another bowl add washed blueberries with the other 2 ounces of liqueur and the other 2 packets of artifical sweeteners. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
In two highball glasses, divide raspberries and add to the bottom of the glasses. Muddle in the bottom of the glasses with a pestle or a spoon until they are broken down. Add a small scoop of ice. Then pour 1.5 ounces of vodka to each glass on top of the ice and berries.
Slowly pour in tonic water. Leave space at the top. Top off the drinks with the blueberries and strawberries that were soaked in orange liqueur. Garnish with mint, basil or rosemary.

Notes

Mocktail Version

Replace orange liqueur with orange juice and cut out the vodka! It’s as simple as that!

Substitutions?

I prefer tonic water because it’s a bit more tart and plays well with the berries. A diet lemon-lime soda would always work though. If you’re not into the diet sodas, you can stick with the regular.

Pick your berry! Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or even blackberries can all be arranged and used in whatever way you want for this recipe. Best to stick with red and blue of course!

For liquor, you could probably soak the berries in aperol or limoncello. I used orange liqueur for the added sweetness of the citrus. You could also swap the vodka for gin if you’re into that.

I garnished this with basil, but feel free to use rosemary or mint!

Tips and Tricks

It’s great to muddle the raspberries at the bottom only because they break apart easier than strawberries or blueberries. The strawberries and blueberries absorb the liqueur better and still maintain their shape.

Wait to mix this to order. Don’t get too crazy and make big batches of this because the soda will go flat and the ice will melt into it and it’ll be a whole mess. You can muddle a pint of raspberries ahead of time and soak the blueberries and strawberries ahead of time. Construct the moment you’re ready to drink.

I suggest drinking this without a straw. Enjoy eating the berries while sipping. Also the berries can easily get clogged in the straw.

What to serve with it?

This is perfect for an outdoor bbq on July 4th. Here are some other grill recipes to check out before your big outdoor bash!

Grilled Citrus Spatchcock Chicken

Grilled Watermelon, Feta & Pistachio Salad

Grilled Peach & Jalapeno Salsa

Summer Lemon-Herb Zucchini

Spicy Calabrian Chili & Honey Chicken