I’ve seen these non-alcoholic patriotic layered drinks in red, white, and blue floating around Pinterest. They look so fun and festive for celebrating the 4th of July!
I sooo wanted to try them with my kids. Unfortunately, some of those ingredients for the layers were flavors that my picky kids won’t actually drink.
I love the look of the layered drinks I saw on the blog In Katrina’s Kitchen. It uses Sobe Pina Colada for the white layer, cran-apple juice for the red layer, and a blue Gatorade for the blue layer. The only one of those ingredients that my kids like is the Gatorade.
So I set out to come up with a version that would appeal to my kids. I understand that the layers are created due to different densities of the liquids – caused by the amount of sugar. Thus, I looked for alternative ingredients in the red, white, and blue colors.
I came up with a few options. Gatorade or Hawaiian Punch for the red layer, Gatorade or Mountain Dew Voltage for the blue layer, and Gatorade or lemonade Vitamin Water for the white layer. I also considered Sprite/7Up/Sierra Mist, which are obviously clear, but I thought that could work in place of the white.
Keeping in mind that the sugar content is key, I experimented with different combinations to create the red, white, and blue layered drinks.
The combination of ingredients that worked best for me was:
- Blue bottom layer: Mountain Dew Voltage (46g of sugar per 12 ounces)
- Red middle layer: Hawaiian Punch (21g of sugar per 12 ounces)
- White top layer: Lemonade Vitamin Water Zero ( 0g of sugar)
The important aspect of layering the liquids was to add plenty of ice to the glass and pour directly onto an ice cube to prevent the liquids from mixing. I don’t know how it works, but it does – mostly.
I found it most difficult to keep the white/clear layer separate. I didn’t have any luck with the lemon-lime soda. It mixed right into the next layer for me. The lemonade Vitamin Water Zero worked better, but still didn’t stay as separate as I would have liked.
We decided it was close enough to red, white, and blue!
Since I was making these for my kids to try, I kept the blue layer fairly small due to the sugar and caffeine content in the Mountain Dew Voltage. I didn’t want to amp them up too much!
We had fun experimenting with the drinks and watching the layers form. These layered drinks are pretty and festive – and my family enjoyed trying them!
Have fun creating your own layered drinks!