We all know that the only true key to a good tailgate party in South Bend is a nice, big bucket of Martin’s fried chicken and a playlist including the Notre Dame Marching Band’s greatest hits, but what are you willing to do to make your Saturday party great?

Since we all have a little extra time on our hands before the late kickoff this Saturday, I have come up with a few cocktail recipes that will set your tailgate apart from the mundane of the guy two spots down who is serving warm Pabst and Popov mixed with knock off colas. Yes, it’ll cost more than a tank of gas and a 30-pack, but won’t it be worth it to become an #NDTwitterati legend?

Of course it is.

Bloody Hail Mary

This one will take a bit of effort and should be done the night before, but for you early risers in the parking lots it’ll be well worth it to get the day started off right. This recipe will fill a one gallon pitcher and will best be served with a pitcher that allows straining. By following the recipe, it will make approximately ten servings.

Food prep is as follows: wedge one lime and one lemon; chop two stalks of celery into approximately one inch pieces; slice one red and one green bell pepper into strips.

Pour three quarts of spicy vegetable juice into the pitcher and add lime, lemon, celery and peppers. Add one tablespoon hot sauce, one teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, two teaspoons prepared horseradish and 1/3 cup cocktail onions. If you so desire, add salt and/or black pepper to taste. Let sit overnight in a refrigerator.

Before serving, add one 750ml bottle of vodka (for extra spice, use Hanger One Chipotle or Absolut Peppar) and stir. Pour over ice into 16 ounce glass. Using large cocktail picks, garnish with one each of a wedge of lime, wedge of lemon, blue cheese-stuffed olive and cube of pepper jack or other white cheese. For added zest and spice, also add a strip of peppered beef jerky.

Yes, I know. That’s a LOT of work. But nothing cures a post-Friday hangover like a Saturday morning heartburn. Delicious, savory heartburn.

’75 Irish

Coach Dan Devine would like one more of those ’75 Irish drinks.

This take on the classic French 75 is inspired by what was actually a mistake. So we can go ahead and call this the champagne of classic cocktails (which is somewhat coincidental since sparkling wine is a necessary ingredient to the original recipe).

The recipe is quite simple:

Pour 2 ounces Irish whiskey (author’s choice is 2 Gingers, in honor of the leprechaun) into a mixing glass with ice. Add 1/2 an ounce lemon juice and shake vigorously. Strain into martini glass or champagne flute and top with your favorite hard cider. That’s it!

I recommend finding the driest cider possible; Strongbow is one of the best and easily attainable, but this will work with any level of sweetness. If you don’t have the time or care to stop for some disposable flutes/martini glasses, I suggest at least getting the nice clear plastic cocktail cups. Plus, this way you can completely avoid as many Toby Keith references as possible.

For a little extra flavor, I highly encourage you to add a cinnamon stick.

Dead Wolverine

Is the time ticking away before kickoff? Need something strong and tasty for one last punch? Are you looking to get that little extra buzz before stumbling walking to the gate? With a fun, game week-appropriate name and a delicious product, this variation of a dead nazi is the perfect way to end the party.

Quite simply take 3/4 ounces of Fireball (or other cinnamon) whiskey and 3/4 ounces of Barenjager honey liqueur. Pour into shot glass.

Cheers.

Drink.

Done.

Disclaimer and Other Mumbo-Jumbo

While I hope you give one or all of these drinks a try this weekend, please remember to stay safe and be responsible adults. All previous drinks should be consumed only by drinkers of a legal age (21 in Indiana) and please please PLEASE do not drive if you are under the influence. We all want to have fun this weekend, and there is no reason why we can’t all be safe and smart.

Believe me, Brady Hoke will say and do plenty of stupid things during and after the game for all of us.

I will also be sending NDTex a new drink each week based on our current opponent in the Friday Roundup starting with this week, so keep your eyes open and bars stocked!

Go Irish. Beat Utah State Wolverines.

The post Notre Dame Mixology: Tailgate Like A Champion Today appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The Wolverines defeated the Fighting Irish Saturday night, 41-30. Here, the Irish’s Chris Brown is tackled by Michigan’s Delonte Hollowell after making a catch. (Photo:vGregory Shamus/Getty Images)

No one likes to lose to Michigan. Ever. But I don’t think the end of the world is any closer either. While the defense still has much work to do, the offense actually looks pretty good … and will only get better from here in my humble opinion.

Lets take a look at how the offense produced on Saturday.

Tommy Rees – Rees completed twenty-nine of fifty-one passes for 314 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. This was also the first time in his career that he had back-to-back games where he passed for more than 300 yards (346 yards against Temple on August 31). The two touchdowns that he threw against Michigan bring his career totals to 39 and his season totals to five. Rees also moved passed Jarious Jackson (’99, 4,820 yards) into sixth place all-time in career passing yardage at Notre Dame with a new total of 5,073 yards.

Yes, I know, two interceptions, but Tommy’s offense scored 30 points. How many points does this offense need to score to win games?

TJ Jones – Jones caught his first touchdown of the season, the 11th of his career, and snagged nine catches for 94 yards in the match-up against Michigan. Jones’ punt return for 18 yards in the first quarter was the longest of his career, and the longest punt return by a Notre Dame player since Michael Floyd returned a punt for 41 yards in 2011 against Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl. (We can all hope that Jones follows in Floyd’s footsteps and goes on to make one-handed grabs like Floyd was making Sunday against the Rams.) And tell me again why we stopped running back punts? Anyways, I digress.

Troy  Niklas – Niklas caught six passes for 76 yards, one being for a score and the longest being 21 yards. We seem to be holding strong in our reputation as Tight End U. I am very much looking forward to watching this kid play.

DaVaris Daniels – Daniels caught six passes for 63 yards, the longest being 22 yards. (I’m not saying that Eifert will not be missed this year, but with Jones, Niklas and Daniels catching passes Notre Dame’s passing game is bright to say the least.)

Chris Brown – Sophomore receiver, Brown, had three catches for 28 yards, his longest grab being for 11 yards.

Our receiving core looks tremendous and will only get better from here. We cannot, however, rely on our offense putting up huge numbers every game to make up for our defense not being able to hold or tackle anything.

Our running game, however, gave me fits of worry seeing as it was practically non-existent. This absence was not because we are lacking talent … we’ve all seen what Carlisle, Atkinson and McDaniels can do. Carlisle had 12 carries for 65 yards, Atkinson had five carries for 39 yards and a 50 yard kickoff return in the third quarter (this was his longest since a 96-yard touchdown run back at Notre Dame Stadium against USC on Oct. 22, 2011), and McDaniel had a mere one carry for four yards. Why Kelly is not utilizing this running core more effectively I have no idea. Our offense has got to be much more diversified in its attack for us to be successful moving forward.

Hopefully after they review game film and begin preparing for Purdue they realize that all passing and no rushing is not going to win games. I truly am not overly worried about this offense. Rees has a stellar surrounding cast and the more experience he gets under his belt the less mistakes he is going to make. Purdue should be a good chance for us to tune things up before we return home to face Michigan State.

Cheers!

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