Sports Bars At Home
There’s nothing quite as much fun as having your own at home bar on game day. If you love sports that is. So, give yourself a hand if you do.
These football themed co*cktails based on player positions, techniques and scoring will have you and your friends celebrating all season long no matter who’s playing who or at what level, college or pro. They are a nice complement to any NCAA or NFL team specific signature drinks as well.
Football co*cktails
Block and Fall co*cktail Drink Recipe:
- 1 oz brandy
- 1 oz orange liqueur
- ½ oz apple brandy
- 2 tsp absinthe
The block and fall co*cktail is almost certainly named for the block and tackle style nautical rope hoists aboard ships and similarly functioning industrial chain falls found in factories which gain a mechanical advantage through the use of multiple pulleys and/or diameters to increase leverage. In football, blocking and tackling are two of the basic fundamentals involved in playing the game and are also used to move a heavy load.
Like moving cargo, it normally takes more than just size and strength for good football blocks and tackles to be effective. Leverage is usually the key to victory, which makes the block and fall co*cktail a perfect pairing for your pigskin party that will really raise the bar.
This block and fall drink recipe reduces the absinthe called for in the 1930 Savoy co*cktail guide reprint which lists proportions of ⅓ for both the brandy and orange liqueur along with ⅙ each for the apple brandy and absinthe (or optional anise flavored liqueur). Shake well and strain into a chilled co*cktail glass.
Anybody want to hoist a few?
End Zone Shandy Spike:
- 12 oz bourbon
- 36 oz light beer
- 12 oz frozen lemonade
The recipe measurements listed above are in a 1:3:1 ingredient ratio for a standard 60 ounce pitcher. Mix well and serve in highball glasses over ice garnished with lemon wedges.
Like a spiked football in the end zone celebrates a touchdown, the End Zone co*cktail via mixologist Steve Cole spikes a shandy (beer and “lemonade”) with little Basil Hayden bourbon to add some panaché to your party. These other beer-based mixed drinks are fan favorites too.
Football Hero Drink Recipe:
- 1 jigger gin
- ½ jigger dry vermouth
- ½ jigger regular vermouth
- 1 dash Bénédictine herbal liqueur
The Football Hero co*cktail a.k.a. the Rolls Royce or Lambs Club co*cktail is a perfect Martini with a Benedictine rinse. Shaken or stirred is up to you.
Above is the 1935 cartoon You Gotta Be a Football Hero which starts by showing Popeye and Olive Oyl in the stands waiting to watch the game. When Bluto’s football team takes the field, he sweeps Olive off her feet and she becomes his team’s cheerleader. An angry Popeye joins the opposing squad as their quarterback, but they’re no match for Bluto’s bruisers. That is until Popeye eats his spinach whichs helps him to single-handedly win back both the game and the girl.
You gotta be a football hero to get along with the beautiful girls.
Kicker co*cktail:
- 2 oz rum
- 1 oz apple brandy
- 1 - 2 dashes sweet vermouth
Although American style football was gaining in popularity when Harry Craddock’s co*cktail compendium was published in 1930 London, this classic Kicker drink recipe probably wasn’t named for the sports place kickers or punters for that matter. However, the name of this vintage drink fits the football co*cktails theme and every party needs a kicker.
Add ingredients to a shaker. Shake well and strain co*cktail into a chilled glass.
Quarterback co*cktail Recipe:
- 1 oz green chartreuse
- 1 oz orange liqueur
- 2 oz milk or half & half
If there’s one specific football player on the team you’re either rooting for or against (see below), its the quarterback. They usually get too much credit for a win and too much blame for a loss. Just part of the game.
Most Quarterback co*cktail recipes call for the sweeter yellow chartreuse, but green is substituted here to match the color of the football field and for a little more kick. You can also add food coloring instead and/or for a darker shade. Shake the liqueurs together with the milk or cream along with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with optional orange twist.
Quarterback Sack Shots:
- 2 oz gin
- 2 oz vodka
- 1 oz orange liqueur
- 4 oz bloody mary mix
- tonic water
Unless its a safety in the end zone, no points are scored when the defense sacks the quarterback on the field, but tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yardage are usually involved and that’s worth rooting for. Orange you glad when your team crushes the opponent’s QB?
Preparation - put the first four ingredients (all except the tonic water) in a mixing tin with ice and stir. Strain into 4 to 6 separate shot glasses and top off each Quarterback Sack with a splash of tonic.
Touchdown co*cktail Drink:
- 1 oz bourbon
- 2 oz unsweetened iced tea
- 2 oz lemonade
The Touchdown co*cktail is a bourbon spiked Arnold Palmer drink. Its a great football themed drink for tailgate parties that can be served individually or in pitchers as a mocktail where your guests can add their own alcohol to suit. Just mix up a batch of half and half iced tea & lemonade punch in a polar pitcher to keep chilled along with setting out a bottle of bourbon on the bar and get back to watching the football game.
Which gridiron drinks will you be serving on game day?
