How to Toast Independence Day

Here's a red-white-and blue brew to make if you're having family and neighbors around for the holiday and don't mind them lingering on all day. It's called Independence Day Punch and packs as much of a wallop as Benjamin Martin's Colonial Militia. Mel Gibson played Martin in "The Patriot," a movie about the Brits getting the boot, but on no account should he be allowed anywhere near this Independence Day Punch Bowl - especially if he's got to drive on PCH. Isn't that right, "sugar-****"?

Things You'll Need

• Juice of 12 lemons
• 2 pounds confectioners' sugar
• 1 pint strong tea
• 3 bottles dry red wine
• 1 bottle brandy
• 1 bottle chilled Champagne
• Lemon slices

Instructions

1. Brew up some tea the night before you intend to make the punch. You'll need it cool, or better chilled, when you use it. (Hey, it wouldn't be much of an Independence Punch without the tea now, would it?) If you like, make sun tea - much easier than boiling up water and so on the way the Brits would. All you do is put tea-bags in a jar, top it up with water, and let it hang around in the sun or in a warm place for about 12 hours. Make sure it's strong - strong as the stuff Sam Adams and his Mohawk Indians made in Boston Harbor!

2. A few hours before the punch is needed, juice the 12 lemons and put the liquid into the punch bowl.

3. Add the 2 pounds of sugar to the lemon juice and stir it well. Make sure the sugar dissolves.

4. Next, add 1 pint of the strong cold tea.

5. And then, just as the revolutionaries did after they tossed 45 tons of tea into the Atlantic, you add the explosives -- 3 bottles of red wine and 1 bottle of brandy. The wine can be inexpensive jug wine. And when choosing the brandy, you can go easy on the stars - the revolutionaries didn't have many in 1773 either. Whatever you do, don't go nuts and put a VSOP or and XO brandy in the mix, and don't pay much more than $5 a liter for the wine.

6. Chill time. Cover the punch bowl with a cloth - the Stars and Stripes hanging off your front porch can be pressed into service if you feel the cause is honorable enough - and put it in the fridge.

7. When you're ready for some toasting, take the punch bowl out of the fridge and add the champagne to give it some sparkle. Again don't break the bank on the champagne - find a cheap sparkling white wine, or some white wine that's been carbonated. But don't use some sweet, sugary slurp like an Asti Spumante - this punch is sweet enough -- although a cheap Prosecco would work fine.

8. If you're afraid the brew is going to pack too much of a kick - and your party guests will end up seeing double the fireworks -- you can bring down the alcohol content at this stage by adding a bottle of seltzer or soda water instead of the sparkling wine. What's important is that something carbonated and light is added to brighten up the heavily alcoholic mixture.

9. Serve with lots of ice - this is a strong brew -- and garnish with slices of lemon.

10. Sit back and look out for the rockets' red glare.

11. And don't drink so much of this that you're bursting for air the morning of July 5!

12. And, unless you left it in the fridge, the flag will be still there. Happy July 4!

Tips & Warnings

• Don't drink and drive.

• Don't take a lift home from Mel Gibson!