Super Bowl XLVI will be here in two short days. It’s going to be a re-match of the two teams that slugged it out in the 2008 Super Bowl. During that epic game, the upstart New York Giants surprised the nation with a win over the New England Patriots, who dominated professional football during the first decade of the 21st Century with four trips to the Super Bowl between 2002 and 2008.
In our Cocktail Super Bowl, we teamed five classic cocktails from new New York and five from New England. To play: Pick one drink from each side per quarter. Tally the votes. The drink with the most votes wins that quarter. Use the 5th set of cocktails in case of overtime.
Let us know your winners in the comments below!
Representing New England:
- Ward Eight (Dewar’s Ward Eight) – the story behind this classic cocktail was that it was created in honor of a long-time Boston politician and named after Ward Eight, the district that delivered him to victory.
- Boston Sidecar – New England was once home to more rum distilleries than anywhere in the world. New England imported unwanted molasses from the Caribbean and turned into into liquid gold. This drink is a twist on the classic Sidecar adding rum.
- Irish Car Bomb – This twist on the Boilermaker and allegedly originated at Wilson’s Saloon in Norwich CT in late 1970’s. Fill your pint glass with Guinness and throw in a shot of Jameson’s Irish whiskey.
- Cape Cod – this drink is based on one of New England’s great exports – Cranberries – and named after one of New England’s best spots. A little fun fact – my home state of Wisconsin is now the largest producer of cranberries in the US – I have to get that fact in since my Packers couldn’t make it to the Super Bowl this year.
- Beer – we know that beer isn’t technically a cocktail. But, we are talking about New England here and that means Boston, which means Cheers!
Representing New York City:
- Manhattan – this is arguably New York City’s most famous drink. A stunning elixir of whiskey (or any brown spirit), vermouth and bitters.
- Bronx – a cocktail named after one of New York City’s five boroughs. This drink was one of the top 10 drinks in the year after the repeal of Prohibition and is making a strong resurgence.
- Long Island Iced Tea – this is a perennial favorite of DOTW readers. It was invented at the Oak Beach Inn in Hampton Bay and spread like wildfire across the US.
- Cosmopolitan – this drink is arguably New York’s greatest contribution to modern cocktail culture. While the exact origin is in dispute, no-one disputes that it was Dale DeGroff that perfected it.
- Algonquin – the famous hotel spawned this famous drink. In the 1920’s, some of the most famous writers in the United States gathered around the round table at the Alongquin and allegedly imbibed in this libation.
