If your Georgia Bulldogs are headed on the road to face the #1 team in the nation with serious concerns all around following recent (relatively) disappointing performances you could probably use a drink.
I can help you with that.
it should come as no surprise that I am not particularly optimistic about this game. And I’m not alone. The Bulldogs are an underdog in a regular season contest for the first time in years. They are facing a Texas squad that, while limited by some injuries, is hitting on all cylinders offensively and defensively.
We find ourselves in a relatively unfamiliar position: having to mentally engineer a scenario by which Georgia triumphs. Normally, headed into a game of this type, the general understanding is that if the Bulldogs play up to their potential, we should win. However, in order to emerge victorious in Austin, Georgia will need to play four quarters of solid football, something which they have not done this football season.
It is a throwback to the Mark Richt era, when Bulldog fans would gather under the tailgate tent and talk about the things that needed to go right for Georgia to win, rather than the things that would have to go wrong for Georgia to lose. It was an era when we would squint just right, hold our fingers to the shifting winds, and say “I don’t know, if we can just jump on them early, maybe get a quick turnover and hit a big play here and there… we just might be in it at the end.”
It’s not a lot of fun being the underdog. It’s a feeling that many in Bulldog Nation frankly don’t have much memory of. But it’s where we are, and we’re going to have to live with that. When you manage your expectations properly, you either get what you were already expecting or you are pleasantly surprised. To that end, I don’t expect that we’re going to win this one, but if we do, boy howdy, is it going to be hilarious. The chance to bullseye the top team in the country on their home field in front of a prime time television audience is the type of pressure Kirby considers a privilege.
And what would be the appropriate drink for this high risk/high reward situation with the eyes of Texas upon us?
The Hornitos Down.
It’s a riff on the Paloma, the other tequila cocktail. In an alternate universe you and your colleagues get together after work at your local Mexican restaurant for Paloma night rather than margarita night. After reading this recipe, that night may be tomorrow night.
Because, while the classic margarita and all of its variations have become ubiquitous and beloved, the margarita’s pink, citrusy cousin the Paloma is arguably the better cocktail. It has a bittersweet, citrusy flavor and exclusive of garnishes it requires only four ingredients. You’ll need:
* Kosher salt
* 5 oz. Jarritos grapefruit soda (available in most supermarket Hispanic food sections, next to my other favorite Jarritos flavor, guava).
* 2 oz. tequila blanco (I’m partial to Hornito’s, but other varieties are obviously available).
* Juice of 1/2 lime
* 1 grapefruit wedge for garnish
* 1 lime wedge.
Start by pouring the salt onto a small plate. Rub the rim of a Collins glass with the lime wedge, then dip it into salt, turning to coat. Fill a prepared glass with ice. Add the grapefruit soda, tequila, lime juice, and a pinch of salt and stir with a bar spoon. Garnish with the grapefruit wedge. Enjoy responsibly, and….
Go ‘Dawgs!!!