4th of July Ice Cream Floats Bar

What could be more festive and refreshing for a red, white & blue party than ice cream floats? Is it a drink? Is it dessert? You be the judge!

Why You’ll Love It

I find that any time I can set up an interactive “serve yourself” party bar, it gives me more freedom to mingle with my guests, and it’s a focal point for conversation too. It doesn’t have to be over the top or have a dozen choices either. In fact, the fewer the better in some cases.

Tasty combinations are terrific for kids and grownups alike! You can make them with or without alcohol so everyone’s happy.

This bar is a fun add-on to any gathering from birthdays to showers. Add it to your list of summer party ideas for Memorial day and Labor day, too.

I set up this ice cream float station using traditional red, white, and blue colors, and added pops of gold for a modern touch. The theme-colored food helps set the scene, and you could tie these fun red, white & blue balloons to the table for added decoration.

What You Need

For this table, I shopped the grocery store for RED raspberry sherbet, WHITE vanilla ice cream, and I picked up a quart of BLUE sorbet. That’s all you need for 4th of July themed ice cream floats.

With just three flavors of frozen dessert and two or more types of soda you can make an endless array of flavored floats. But I’ve also added some tasty liqueurs for an adult beverage.

Helpful Tips

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• Make sure sodas are nice and chilled. Put them on ice in a drink tub, for easy access.
• Purchase the 8-ounce sodas, or individual serving bottles for a prettier presentation.
• Pre-scoop ice cream and keep it in a bowl in the freezer until ready to use.
• Place the bowl of ice cream on top of a larger bowl filled with ice.
• Use 8-ounce jars as drinking glasses. They’re an inexpensive party solution.
• Add color and detail to the side of the glass jars by adding a strip of decorative tape in the party colors.
• Make sure to provide plenty of paper straws or biodegradable spoons for each ice cream float glass.
• Transfer flavored liqueurs into small decanter bottles with pour spouts, for easy serving.
• Put berries in pretty bowls that match the décor.

Ingredients

Think of this as your shopping list when preparing your setup.

• Raspberry sherbet (red)
• Vanilla ice cream (white)
• Daiquiri Ice flavored sorbet (blue) – I found the blue tinted sorbet at Baskin Robbins, but the grocery store may have variations too.

Sodas

• Ginger Ale
• Dr. Pepper
• Root Beer
• Red berry soda

Spirits

• Coconut rum
• Blue Curacao
• Red Pama liqueur or grenadine

Toppings

• Whipped cream
• Fresh blueberries, raspberries, and cherries (or Maraschino cherries)

PARTY TIP: Prepare two or more bowls of ice cream scoops so you can put one on the table while the others are in the freezer ready to switch out when the first batch is empty.

For the soda portion of the floats use ginger ale because it’s clear and allows the colors of the ice cream to show through. It’s also great because it’s less sweet than other types of soft drinks.

Ginger ale allows the fruitiness of the sherbet and sorbet to shine through while adding effervescence and classic ginger flavor.

Don’t stop there though. Include a more traditional cola to mix with the vanilla ice cream. I chose Dr. Pepper for a bit of a twist. But classic Root Beer or Coca-Cola make fantastic ice cream floats.

How To Make An Ice Cream Float

1. To make the floats, all you need to do is add ice cream, sherbet, or sorbet.
2. Fill the glass with soda of choice.
3. Top with whipped cream and garnish with some fresh berries.

Favorite Flavor Combinations

You can get super creative mixing flavors. With a dessert or drink bar like this, the options are endless. Here are some ideas.

• Red ice cream float – raspberry sherbet + ginger ale + whipped cream + fresh raspberry garnish
• Classic ice cream float – vanilla ice cream + Dr. Pepper + whipped cream + fresh cherry garnish
• Blue ice cream float – daiquiri Ice flavor sorbet + ginger ale + splash coconut rum + splash Blue Curacao + whipped cream + fresh blueberry garnish
• Create an all-in-one combo with a scoop each of the red, white, & blue flavors. Top with ginger ale.
• Add the ginger ale to vanilla ice cream and a splash of Blue Curacao.
• Or add a splash of rum to the raspberry & ginger ale combo. 

I think you can guess which flavor was my favorite – daiquiri of course! The raspberry was a strong second, and my children loved the classic vanilla.

Check out all the flavor combinations and let me know what you think in the comments below.

More Ice Cream Party Ideas

Try these ice cream party ideas to cool off at summer gatherings.

• Ice cream soda bar
• Birthday party ice cream soda bar
• Banana split bar
• 4th of July Ice cream bar
• Ice cream sundae party