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."

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

　　In a large pitcher, combine the lemon slices, cucumber slices, and vermouth. Stir gently then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours. When ready to serve, add the curaçao, simple syrup, lemon juice, gin, sparkling water, and Maraschino liqueur, if using. Carefully fill the pitcher with ice and stir to combine. Garnish glasses with mint, plus additional lemon and cucumber slices.