Name: Cucumber-Vermouth Sangria
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 lemon, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish; 1 cucumber, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish; 1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry vermouth such as Dolin; 1 ounce blue or orange curaçao liqueur; 1 ounce simple syrup or more to taste; 1 ounce lemon juice; 2 ounces dry gin; 2 cups cold sparkling water; 1/2 to 1 ounce Maraschino liqueur (optional); Mint for garnish

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Cucumber-Vermouth SangriaSara Bonisteel

St. John Frizell of Fort Defiance in Red Hook, Brooklyn, created this recipe for a Fourth of July drinks feature—this is the blue option in a special red, white, and blue Sangria series. The drink gets its oceanlike hue from just 1 ounce of blue curaçao, but if color isn't important to you, feel free to use regular (clear) curaçao instead. Frizell warns against using cheap vermouth: "An excellent dry vermouth, like Dolin, is necessary for this recipe." The drizzle of Maraschino liqueur, Frizell explains, "adds a nutty, bittersweet note."

Recipe notes

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