Football season lasts for months. That means a lot of weekends, a lot of games, and — if we’re being honest — a lot of the same drinks.
When you’re ready to give the usual cooler lineup a break, these game-day cocktails are a good place to start. They’re interesting enough to impress your friends but simple enough to make at home without a full bar or a bartending degree.
Every drink is built around Open Road Distilling Co. spirits, produced or hand-blended at our distillery in Reston, Virginia. Make one for yourself or batch a pitcher before kickoff. Either way, you’ll have something with enough actual flavor to make your buddy’s light beer look a little sad by comparison.
Apple cider, ginger, and rye feel made for football season. Eagle Eye Rye brings warm baking spice and enough structure to keep the drink from becoming overly sweet, while ginger beer gives it a crisp, refreshing finish.
It works just as well during an early-season afternoon game as it does when the temperature finally drops.
Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the Eagle Eye Rye, apple cider, and fresh lemon juice. Top with ginger beer and stir gently. Garnish with an apple slice or cinnamon stick.
For eight drinks, combine:
Keep the batch refrigerated until your guests arrive. Pour approximately 4½ ounces over ice and top each glass with ginger beer.
This cocktail looks like you put considerably more effort into it than you did.
Blackberry preserves provide fruit, sweetness, and a deep game-day color without requiring you to cook homemade syrup. Open Road American Gin — pot-distilled in Reston with bright citrus, floral botanicals, and warm baking spice — keeps the cocktail fresh and balanced.
Add the gin, lemon juice, and blackberry preserves to a shaker filled with ice. Shake hard, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda and garnish with a lemon wheel or fresh blackberry.
No cocktail shaker? A mason jar with a tight lid works just fine.
For eight drinks, combine:
Whisk until the preserves are thoroughly incorporated, then keep the batch refrigerated. Pour approximately 3½ ounces over ice and top each glass with club soda.
Give the pitcher a quick stir between rounds to keep the blackberry evenly distributed.
Some football days begin with the early games and keep going straight through the night slate. This is the drink for that transition.
Open Road American Vodka gives the cocktail a clean, smooth base, while cold brew concentrate and coffee liqueur bring plenty of roasted coffee flavor. A small amount of maple syrup adds richness without turning it into dessert.
Add everything to a shaker with plenty of ice. Shake hard for approximately 15 seconds, then strain into a coupe, martini glass, or rocks glass.
Garnish with three coffee beans if you have them. If you don’t, nobody watching the game is going to complain.
For eight drinks, combine:
Keep the batch refrigerated. For the best texture and foam, measure approximately 4 ounces per drink and shake it with ice before serving.
If the game is too close for all that, pour it directly over ice. We won’t tell.
It’s the fourth quarter. Nobody measures anything.
Open Road Distilling Co.’s Maple Old Fashioned is a barrel-rested, ready-to-pour cocktail made with Eagle Eye Rye and Grade A maple syrup. It tastes like you made an Old Fashioned from scratch without making you miss an entire drive.
Big ice cube. Pour. Watch the game.
That’s the whole recipe.
Pick up a bottle at the Open Road Distilling Co. Distillery Store in Reston Town Center, or find it at Virginia ABC stores across the state.
Making all three cocktails? One quick trip should cover it:
Add a few apples, blackberries, and coffee beans if you want the drinks to look the part. Skip the garnishes if your only goal is getting everything poured before kickoff.
Don’t feel like playing bartender? Join us at Open Road Distilling Co. in Reston Town Center for food and drink specials throughout football season.
College Saturdays & NFL Sundays
Post up at the bar, catch the games, and let us handle the drinks. When the final whistle blows, duck into Heirloom — the speakeasy inside the distillery — for something a little more interesting than your usual nightcap.
Shop our spirits · Book a tasting · Follow @drinkopenroad
Open Road Distilling Co. is located at 1871 Fountain Drive, Suite 100, in Reston Town Center, Virginia. Our American Vodka and American Gin are pot-distilled on-site. Eagle Eye Rye and Independence Bourbon are hand-blended from carefully sourced, aged American whiskey. Join us for a tour, a tasting, or simply a better game day.
