Week 8 wasn’t as thrilling as I had hoped for everyone last week, but if your team was on the winning end of the spectrum, odds are it wasn’t too stressful of a Saturday for you. Outside of a couple nailbiters, including Baylor taking WVU to the wire, most of the top games weren’t particularly exciting. TCU was whooping up on Kansas so bad in primetime they switched them to a running clock! (OK, maybe that’s not why they did it.) Anyways, let’s take a look at what the upcoming week has for us. I hope you have a lot of TVs around, because the afternoon slot of games is absolutely loaded.

Rum Runner

The most intriguing game in the early time slot this weekend is Mike Gundy and his glorious hair headed east to Morgantown to take on the Mountaineers. These two high powered offenses are sure to put on a show for everyone. Mason Rudolph has had very little problem balling out this season, and Will Grier has been no slouch himself since getting to WVU from Florida. One of Grier’s favorite targets has been David Sills who got a cool little feature from Bleacher Report to share his story this week. West Virginia is home to some classic bootlegging, so instead of just featuring straight up moonshine (still an option for you tho!) we’re settling for something that sounds like bootlegging.

What You’ll Need: light rum, dark rum, brandy, banana liqueur, orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine.

For this drink you’re going to want to use a cocktail shaker (or feel free to mix in a blender as well). Fill the shaker with ice and add in equal parts of all the ingredients except for the grenadine. Give the mixture a good shake. Strain the ingredients into your ice-filled tailgating cup and top off with a splash of grenadine. A nice extra step, should you be willing, is to add almost any fruit of your choosing as a garnish.

 

Fuzzy Navel (with variations)

As I mentioned above, the afternoon is going to be absolutely wild in the college football world. TCU heads to Ames to take on the newly ranked Cyclones. Penn State heads to the Horseshoe to battle Ohio State, NC State heads to the home of Touchdown Jesus to battle Notre Dame and there’s the game we’re gonna focus on, Georgia and Florida in Jacksonville. Affectionately known, although no longer officially, as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, Georgia and Florida meet up for the 95th (if you ask Florida) or 96th (if you ask Georgia) game. Let’s not get tied up too much in discrepancies and get to the good stuff here. This is a drink that offers flavors from both states with peach and oranges being the stars. So crank up some “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line and unwrap this monster.

What You’ll Need: Peach Schnapps, Orange juice.

The basic recipe is super simple. In an ice-filled glass, simply mix equal parts peach schnapps and orange juice. This is a wonderful drink itself, but I’m going to explore a couple variations that you’re welcome, and encouraged to try.

Barbed Navel – Mix together 2 parts tequila, 1 part peach schnapps, 2 parts orange juice

Hairy Navel – Mix together equal parts vodka and peach schnapps, fill with orange juice

Black Widow

Late Saturday doesn’t offer a ton of excitement on paper but that doesn’t mean we might not see some fireworks. Texas Tech heads to Norman to take on Oklahoma which could end 63-0, or Kliff may just run some real football fuckery because who knows how long he has left in Lubbock. Pac-12 After Dark offers some excitement with Wazzu heading to Arizona and USC heading to Arizona State. It’s Halloween weekend in college football, so make sure that you enjoy this superhero/spider beverage dressed in your finest costumes!

What You’ll Need: Vodka, Kahlua, grenadine, cola

In an ice filled glass, pour in 1 shot (1-1 1/2 oz) of vodka, 1/2 shot of Kahlua (3/4 oz) and a splash of grenadine. To finish, fill with the cola of your choosing and give it a nice stir!

 

Tailgate Beer of the Week!

Grain Belt is a staple in Minnesota and this was something I was unaware of until roughly the age of 25. I was bartending when a group of gentlemen stopped in and asked for Grain Belt. I’ve had Grain Belt, and it’s not bad, but it isn’t in much demand anywhere around where I’ve been. These guys were disgusted when I gave a small chuckle and told them that we didn’t carry it. They proceeded to inform how great it is and that every bar should carry it (they shouldn’t). Anyway, Grain Belt is a decent beer to have in the cooler this weekend for all the festivities!

That brings our time together for this week to a close!  As always, be safe and I hope everyone’s team walks away victorious! Happy Halloween and we’ll see you next week!