The Fourth Fizz 🎆

A Red, White & Blue Mocktail for July 4th

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This one was built for Dry July on the Fourth of July — which is, let's be honest, the hardest combination of circumstances the challenge throws at you.

If you're four days into Dry July and staring down a cookout this weekend, this is your drink. It looks like a party, it tastes genuinely good, and it's built with ingredients that are actually doing something useful for your body while everyone else is on their third beer.

Three layers. Red, white, and blue. Five minutes to make. Here's how.

A note on the ingredients

This isn't just a pretty drink — each layer is carrying functional weight:

Tart cherry (red): One of the most research-backed natural recovery aids. High in melatonin precursors and anti-inflammatory compounds. It's the layer that looks the most festive and works the hardest.

Coconut water (white): Natural electrolytes — potassium, magnesium — that actually hydrate you rather than dehydrating you the way alcohol does. On a hot July 4th, this layer is genuinely useful.

Blue spirulina + pineapple (blue): Blue spirulina (not green spirulina — important distinction) gives a vivid cyan-blue colour without any grassy flavour. It's packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory phycocyanin. The pineapple juice carries the sweetness and keeps the colour stable.

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Ingredients (makes 1 serving)

• 1 fl oz tart cherry juice

• 2 fl oz coconut water

• 2 fl oz pineapple juice

• ¼ tsp blue spirulina powder

• 2 fl oz club soda, to top

• Ice

• Fresh or maraschino cherry, for garnish

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Instructions

1. Mix the blue layer first. In a small glass or measuring cup, whisk the blue spirulina powder into the pineapple juice until fully dissolved and no clumps remain. Set aside. This is your blue layer — pre-mixing it means you can pour it smoothly later.

2. Build the red layer. Fill your glass with ice. Pour the tart cherry juice directly over the ice. It will sink to the bottom — this is your red layer.

3. Add the white layer. Slowly pour the coconut water over the back of a spoon held just above the cherry juice. The spoon slows the pour and helps it float above the red layer rather than mixing in. This is your white layer.

4. Float the blue layer. Slowly pour the spirulina-pineapple mixture over the back of a spoon again, above the coconut water layer. The density difference will keep it floating on top as your blue layer.

5. Top and garnish. Pour the club soda gently down the inside edge of the glass to preserve the layers. Garnish with a cherry and serve immediately — before stirring — so your guests can see the full red, white, and blue effect.

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A Few Notes

On the layering: it works because of liquid density differences. Tart cherry is the densest and sinks. Coconut water sits in the middle. The pineapple-spirulina mix floats on top. Pour slowly, use the back-of-spoon technique, and it'll hold long enough to photograph and present.

On blue spirulina: make sure you're buying blue spirulina (also labelled as phycocyanin or blue-green spirulina extract), not regular green spirulina. Green spirulina has a strong grassy, fishy flavour that will dominate the drink. Blue spirulina is virtually flavourless and gives a vivid, stable colour. Find it at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or online.

Making it for a crowd? Multiply all the ingredients, pre-mix each layer in a separate pitcher, and then layer per glass at serving time. The layering doesn't work in a large shared pitcher — you need individual glasses.

This is part of Sober Curious Sunday — a weekly series on what alcohol actually does to your body, one small swap at a time, and one drink to make instead. New recipe every Sunday on @wiredandwild.co.