Cocktails & Critique: Finals Night Cocktail Recipes
Getting you ready for retreat.
It’s the last day of the season, and so we here at Cocktails & Critique have decided to give you a few ideas regarding what to drink tonight while watching the twelve best corps on Drum Corps’ biggest stage.
Listed here in performance order are twelve themed cocktails, each inspired by a show or the group performing it! All tasting notes and names were done by Wes.
Come join us tonight at 6:15e on Cocktails & Critique, streaming exclusively through the GEM Discord.
Blue Knights: We’re going to name this drink for the show. The Unharnessed – you want to get away? This drink will get you there in a hurry.
Recipe:
2 oz 1776 full proof bourbon
Dash of green chartreuse
Blue Stars: Listen, Absinthe tastes terrible, and the real stuff isn’t even legal in the United States. Here’s a close second: The Sneak Attack.
Recipe:
2 oz pear nectar
1.5 oz vodka
0.5 oz Pear Brandy
Truffle salt salted rim
Troopers: As old fashioned and as wild west as it gets. The “shot” is so named because the cost of a shot in a bar in the wild west, if you did not have actual coin, was one .45 long colt cartridge.
Recipe: a shot of whiskey … in a dirty glass.
Colts: Home Sweet Home indeed. A comforting and familiar drink with a twist, the Sullivan Family Daiquiri Recipe.
Recipe:
Frozen strawberries
Kraken Rum to Taste
Bacardi clear rum to taste
Dash of 151 (if you can get it, if not used overproof spiced rum)
Small dash of confectioner sugar
The Cavaliers: Part tradition, part salty, this pickle-tini is just like the Cavalier alumni base.
Recipe:
1.5 oz pickle juice infused vodka
.5 oz dry vermouth
Dash of pickle juice
Garnish with a tiny cocktail pickle and two cocktail onions
Phantom Regiment: Befitting its namesake, this drink is the perfect marriage of old-fashioned tradition with a new era twist: the 50/50 Manhattan.
Recipe:
1.5 oz Templeton Barrel Proof Rye
1.5 oz Sonoma County Cherrywood Bourbon
Dash of Angostura Bitters
.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
Mandarins: Befitting the Sinnerman and mild BDSM theme, I call this the Russian Prostitute (Matthew’s note: I do not endorse this name, but the drink is excellent).
Recipe:
3 oz pineapple juice
1.5 oz Bacardi 151 (if you can get it, if not replace with an overproof spiced rum)
The Cadets: Credit to Mike Linnehan for this idea and recipe, it speaks for itself. The Atlas.
Recipe:
1 dash Angostura bitters
0.5 oz of Cointreau (I will replace with pineapple juice)
0.5 oz Demerara Rum (this seems rare, so any overproof may serve as a substitute)
1.5 oz apple brandy
Boston Crusaders: You want me to pick some whale related drink, right? Or ocean-themed? Instead, I’m going with a classic Irish cocktail, the Rusty Nail, to honor Boston’s heritage and the Irish parts of their show.
Recipe:
2 oz Highland Scotch (I’ll be using Glenfidditch Nectar D’or)
1 oz Drambouie
Carolina Crown: Stately but slightly edge, and in honor of their roots: The Southern Belle
Recipe:
1.5 oz Black Label SoCo
1.5 oz Gentleman Jack
Dash of green Chartreuse
Bluecoats: I’m going to repurpose the first cocktail I ever created for this show. We’ll call it the Magic School Bus: weird, but familiar, and smooth and delightful to consume, just like the Bluecoats show.
Recipe:
1 oz cake vodka
1 oz Amaretto
0.5 oz chocolate liqueur (such as Godiva)
Dash of milk
Blue Devils: A simple yet elegant drink, the Martini is like the Blue Devils drum line, generally terrible but people pretend to like it to feel sophisticated.
Recipe
2 oz vodka
Splash of dry vermouth
Garnish with olive
Thank you all for joining us for this season on Cocktails & Critique! It’s been so much fun, and we can’t wait to do this again with you! Stay connected with GEM on all of our social media, and stay tuned for all of the excellent off-season content planned!
Wesley Sullivan has been involved in the marching arts for well over half his life. He has competed in DCI and WGI as a performer and instructor collecting five Division II championships, a world class Fred Sanford trophy, and a number of other finalist years.
Wesley is a co-founder of FloMarching and currently runs a consulting company for fast growth startups focusing on scale, automation and process optimization. He sits on the Board of Directors for Paramount Performing Arts.
A native of Massachusetts, Wesley currently lives in Texas with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.
Matthew Carstensen is currently GEM’s Managing Editor. He has been involved in the Pageantry Arts for over a decade as a performer at the highest level, an instructor, and a fan. You can find him on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram at @SatNightLites. He currently lives in Florida with his dog.