Fans of the gridiron, the parquet court, the ice rink, and the pitch may erroneously disagree, but the grassy green outfield bordering the dusty tan diamond infield is where the sporting heart of America lives.
The first baseball game recognized by scholars saw the New York Nine pummel the Knickerbockers to a crushing defeat of 23 – 1 at a scrappy field in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 19th, 1846. Shortly after a surge in baseball popularity swept through New York City in the 1850’s, various journalists decided baseball was the national pastime. Few have disputed this crowning in the 170 plus years since.
A batter stepping up to the plate must consider the score, read the field and decide among many options of batting technique. Go for a solid base-hit, advancing the game while playing it safe? Try to bunt, a tricky move to pull o but a gamble loaded with the element of surprise for the opposing team? Or risk it all and swing for the fences with full power, leading to either a pop-up easy out or a glorious home run?
Whether you’re planning to host a game viewing party at your home or deciding what to order at your favorite sports bar, you’re faced with a similar roster of options as the batter approaching the box or the pitcher on the mound. Will you select a base of whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, or tequila for your cocktail?
Lucky for you, we’re here to guide you as your trusted third-base coach. We won’t tell you exactly what to do but we’ll present the full menu of choices for your consideration. Follow these recommendations for the top five baseball themed cocktails and we guarantee you won’t strike out.
As a bonus free-of-charge we’ve included five quotes from the legendary catcher, manager, coach, and philosopher Yogi Berra. Serve up any of these baseball-themed cocktails along with a Yogi quote and the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor to impress your friends and have a great time, regardless of either team’s score after nine innings.
“I never said most of the things I said.” – Yogi Berra
Weeks before the first pitch is thrown on Opening Day, every team in the leagues gets busy stretching and conditioning to prep for the formal start of the season. The timing coincides nicely with the blossoming Spring weather, so celebrate both the warm-up for baseball and the warmer temperatures as we wave farewell to Winter and mix up a Spring Training cocktail.
Spring Training
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. citrus vodka
- 1/2 oz. Thatcher’s Organic Cucumber Liqueur
- 3/4 oz. basil syrup
- 1 oz. lemon juice
Preparation
- Combine the above in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.
- Shake and strain into a Collins glass.
- Top with a splash of raspberry lemonade.
- Garnish with cucumber wheel and basil sprig.
“So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.” – Yogi Berra
Internationally known as the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the village of Cooperstown in Central New York near Otsego Lake is virtually synonymous with baseball. Exploring the area is like an excursion in an elegant time machine, as the aesthetics of decades past are retained in the Cooperstown Historic District. In addition to sports legends, the Glimmerglass Opera and the Fenimore Art Museum round out the cultural sophistication of the locality, mirrored in the gin, vermouth and mint flavors of this cocktail named for the township.
The Cooperstown
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. Tanqueray gin
- 3/4 oz. Martini & Rossi rosso vermouth
- 3/4 oz. Noilly Prat Original dry vermouth
- 2 dashes of orange bitters
- 2 mint leaves
Preparation
- Combine the above in a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir for 10 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a mint sprig.
“Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.” – Yogi Berra
In baseball terms, a Grand Slam is defined as the uncommon event when a batter hits a home run out of the park with the bases loaded, earning four runs for their team, the highest score possible for any single play in the sport. Mix up and sip this rum-loaded concoction to enjoy the feeling of glorious joy of crushing a Grand Slam home run without ever taking the field.
The Grand Slam
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Flor de Caña 7-year-old grand reserve rum
- 1 oz. Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
- 1/2 oz. Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao ancienne methode
- 1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 oz. grenadine
Preparation
- Combine the above in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.
- Shake for 10 seconds until well mixed and chilled.
- Strain into an Old Fashioned glass over crushed ice.
- Garnish with a twist of orange.
“If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.” – Yogi Berra
The ballpark is well-known and understood to be a place of fun, community gathering, friendly competition and athleticism. It’s also a wonderland of indulgent food and drink, from hot dogs to corn dogs, popcorn, peanuts, chicken tenders, cotton candy, ice cream and those gigantic soda jugs with special container-shaped tops made to stack piles of French fries or other delicious snacks. This spin on the classic paloma will fit right in with your good times everywhere from the actual ballpark, the backyard barbeque or the flatscreen TV lined sports entertainment cave.
The Ballpark Paloma
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. tequila añejo
- 3/4 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
- 1/2 oz. simple syrup
- 1/4 oz. fresh lime juice
- 1 egg white
Preparation
- Combine the above in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.
- Shake for 10 – 20 seconds until well mixed and chilled.
- Rim a coupe glass with Tajín.
- Double-strain the mix into the coupe glass.
- Top the surface of the drink with dashes of bitters mirroring the stitching on a baseball, like parentheses symbols in reverse.
“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.” – Yogi Berra
Special credit for the next-level preparation of this drink goes to Anita Schecter of the website hungrycouplenyc.com. In one of the earliest known and longest lasting examples of musical and branding cooperation, the unocial baseball anthem “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” – written in 1908 by Jack
Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer – includes the memorable request to “buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if ever get back…” If you have the time to brew this caramel-coated cocktail per the specs outlined here, it’s a safe bet you’ll be feeling equally carefree. Just don’t forget to brush your teeth afterward… Enjoy!
The Cracker Jack Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Cracker Jack bourbon
- 1 oz. Dekuyper buttershots liqueur
- 1 1/2 oz. whole milk
Preparation
- Fill a canning jar with Cracker Jack candy and bourbon.
- Secure the lid tightly and let sit for three days.
- Shake the sealed jar several times each of the three days.
- On the fourth day strain the candy out from the bourbon.
- Filter through a cheesecloth to remove extra sediment.
- Pour the above measurements of candy-soaked bourbon, buttershots and milk into ice-filled cocktail glasses, stir and serve.
