When the sun is shining and the football game hasn’t quite started yet, you’ll need some cool drinks to keep you and the rest of the fans refreshed. Big batch tailgate drinks are a great way to make a lot of stuff at the same time. You don’t want to be bartending your own tailgate for the entire party! Check out some of our favorite alcoholic and non-alcoholic big batch tailgate drinks.
When tailgates get warm, fans have to work to stay cool. And to do that, you’ll need the right regional gameday fashion and the perfect team hat to keep the sun out of your face.
Alcoholic
These are big batch tailgate drinks that are alcoholic. While some of these big batch tailgate drinks could simply be made without alcohol, they may not taste quite the same! Whether you’re at one of the most popular college football stadiums or just supporting your smaller hometown team, these drinks will get everyone gameday ready.
Pineapple Sangria
This Pineapple Sangria can be made in some big batches so you can actually enjoy your time at the tailgate. For the alcohol, mix in a 750 milliliter bottle of your favorite Rose. You could also make this with a little bit of white wine and tequila if you want to make it extra strong. From there, add a couple of cups of 100% pineapple juice. Gently stir in a pint of raspberries and blackberries, well washed.
Don’t smash the berries but still allow them to breathe in the sangria. Next, stir in a cup of pineapple that is chopped but not too finely. The fresh pineapple will add the aesthetics while the pineapple juice adds the flavor.
If you really want to make the sangria a bit sporty, you could add a cup of fruit punch flavored sports drink. Fruit punch plays really well with the flavorings of the pineapple. Plus, adding a sports drink can make the sangria a bit more hydrating and a whole lot more sporty for the fans. Check out this recipe if you want a more traditional sangria to work with.
Rhubarb Collins
Mix a couple of cups of chopped rhubarb with a cup of frozen raspberries, a cup of sugar, two cups of water and the juice of half of a lemon. Put it all in a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the coloring is a rich red and it has been reduced. The goal is to not burn the sugar and the raspberries, but to bring out the full flavor of the rhubarb. Strain the syrup that is created after simmering and set aside the syrup.
You’ll want to strain the syrup really thoroughly, maybe even using a coffee filter if you need to thicken it up a bit. After you’ve got the syrup, you’re ready to make the punch.
For the punch, combine a couple of cups of gin, a half a cup of lime juice, a quart of sparkling water (this could be plain sparkling water or a sparkling water that has a light lime or lemon flavor to it), and three cups of ice.
After you’ve made up the punch, mix with two cups of the syrup that you’ve prepared.
Vodka Lemonade
An excellent, tasty treat for a hot day. Vodka lemonade combines the punch of vodka with the punch of a sour lemonade for a double knockout. But served with mint and chilled over ice, and it’s refreshing as well!
Quarter four lemons and remove any of the seeds that you see. Note that you should be removing the skin and the seeds so that you don’t blend them up as well. Simply cut the ends off the lemon and then cut it into four wedges, before slicing horizontally down the wedges to remove the seeds and string from the middle.
Blend the lemons with two cups of water, one cup of sugar, a handful of ice cubes, and five mint leaves. Blend until the whole mixture is a little bit foamy and not too chunky. Once it is like this, strain the whole mixture and stir in an extra six cups of water. You could now serve the mixture as a pure, non-alcoholic lemonade if you want to. Otherwise add in about one cup of vodka for a weaker drink, or two cups of vodka for a stronger drink. Pour over ice and use extra mint leaves and wedges from lemons or limes to garnish the drinks.
The other thing about lemonade is that because it doesn’t have a strong color, you can use natural flavoring to shift the color and taste of the lemonade. Even if you don’t want to be drinking purple lemonade, you might want to turn that lemonade purple to match the cool colors from your favorite team.
Non-alcoholic
These are big batch tailgate drinks that are non-alcoholic. Some of these big batch tailgate drinks could also be spiked as well. Need some team-themed cups for yourself or to serve your tailgate with? Check out some team-themed accessories that can take your tailgate to the next level where it deserves to be at!
Watermelon Hibiscus Tea
Tailgating is one of the best college football gameday rituals that you could have. And to keep your non-alcoholic friends from feeling left out of the festivities, having a signature game day drink that everyone will love is essential to spreading the love of that tradition around to others.
Boil four cups of water and then pour the water over four hibiscus tea bags. Allow this hibiscus tea to steep for 6 minutes before straining the tea bags. You can also pour directly over a half cup of dried hibiscus if you happen to have it.
Next, set the tea aside and make four cups of fresh watermelon juice. Cut open a fresh watermelon and remove as many of the seeds as you can. Add around six cups of watermelon pieces to a blender and then churn it until the mixture is quite smooth. Strain the watermelon juice into four cups of juice. The straining is absolutely critical to the process! Without straining the watermelon, you’ll get lots of fibres and weird textures into your juice.
Cool the tea in the refrigerator and stir in about a half cup of sugar. Add a half cup of lime juice and the watermelon juice mixture. Add more sweetener to your taste and serve chilled. It mixes really well with some tequila if you’re interested in making mixed drinks with it. Otherwise, serve it over ice and enjoy!
Sparkling Cucumber-Lemon-Mint Water
As far as big batch tailgate drinks go, this is bound to be a crowd-pleaser! The sparkling cucumber lemon mint water is also really easy to make. Simply combine eight cups of sparkling water and three cups of ice into a big pitcher. Add a half cucumber of wafer-thin slices, ten mint leaves that are slightly rolled between your thumb and index finger to release aroma and flavor, and two lemons of wedges.
Do not squeeze the lemon wedges when making the sparkling water or they will overpower the entire drink! Serve quickly after making it, and feel free to use extra cucumber, lemon, and mint to garnish these big batch tailgate drinks.
