There’s only one word for these patriotic drinks – fun & festive! STAR-SPANGLED SUGAR SIPS are super easy to make, and people are always impressed by them. Isn’t it fun to pull things together for a holiday celebration centered around patriotism, explosives, and all things Red, White, and Blue!?
The secret to making these drinks is the sugar. You will need three different beverages inthe patriotic colors. These drinks will need to have different sugar contents. The concept here is that a liquid with a lower sugar content will layer on top of those with higher ones. You can use any drink product you just need to pay close attention to the sugar content on the label. Here’s what worked for me:  
1. Pina Colada Mixer (this is non-alcoholic) – I found mine at Walmart. I chose this because I wanted the white to really stand out. You can use Sprite Zero, but the clear soda’s turn out…well clear…duh! The clear diet soda’s will have the fewest grams of sugar, so if you use one of those it will need to be the top layer.
2. Hawaiian Punch (Fruit Juicy Red) is what I used for the red color.
3. G2 Gatorade (Blueberry-Pomegranate) is what I used for the blue. You have fewer choices with the blue – usually Gatorade or blue Hawaiian Punch.
You’re going to need a lot of ice. Oh, speaking of ice…
See the cute ice trays in the background? I found them at the Dollar Tree. They make the cutest, little star-spangled ice cubes. Because these drinks require a lot of ice you better get your trays and make ice a few days ahead of time. I froze mine and dumped them into a large freezer bag to keep until I had enough.
To make these fill your glasses slam full of ice; all the way to the rim. Starting with the beverage with the highest sugar content (in my case the white) slowly pour over the ice trying not to let the drink touch the side of the glass. Fill each glass 1/3 of the way. Next, add the drink with the medium sugar content (in my case red) again pouring slowly over the ice trying not to let the it run down the side of the glass filling until the glass is 2/3rd’s full. Then add the drink with the lowest sugar content (in my case blue) over the ice slowly until the glass is full. Remember – pouring slowly, over the ice helps make the layers. If the ice settles you can add more between each layer.
I like serving these with straws even though one is not shown in the pictures. Sometimes I drink mine one layer at a time, other times I mix it all up. It just depends on the mood I’m in at the time. As a rule I don’t buy sugary drinks, but these fun festive holiday drinks are an exception. And if you’re about to flip your wig over the amount of sugar keep in mind that only one third of the drink has the high sugar content in it, so truthfully that kind of evens things out. Right?
