Stars and Stripes – Cocktail of the Week

With the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics officially kicking off tonight, I figured this week's cocktail should support Team USA.

Things don't get much more patriotic than Stars and Stripes.

This cocktail, if prepared right, will come out with a layer of red, white, and blue. You want to make sure you're ingredients are all super cold, because you obviously can't shake or stir the the cocktail with ice once it's made. I'd recommend shaking them with ice separately if necessary.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. lemon or cherry vodka (be sure to use a clear variety)
• 1 oz. blue curacao
• .5 oz. grenadine
• 2 oz. lemon-lime or club soda

To make a layered drink, you want to start with the ingredient with the most sugar. In this case, we're going red, white, blue. Pour the grenadine into the bottom of a frosted martini glass. Then, pour the vodka and soda SLOWLY over the back of a spoon into the glass, with the spoon lightly touch the glass. You should see the red and clear layers separate.

Finally, you'll add the blue curacao, again by SLOWLY pouring the blue curacao into the glass as you did the vodka and soda.

Your hard work shall now be rewarded with your first sip!

(If you're wondering why the clear 'white' layer is at the top it's because I only had plain vodka and no-soda...and therefore not enough sugar to keep it under the curaçao.)

And hey, if for some reason you screw up the layering and it turns out purple...just file it under #SochiProblems.

What's your favorite red, white, or blue drink? Tell us in the comment section below!