I love alcohol. Beer, wine, mixed drinks. They all have their place. Here are some of my favorites.
At the baseball game:
What can I say? I’m a Cardinals fan. They play in Busch Stadium. Nothing beats an ice-cold Bud Light at a day game in the summer. And you only have to sell ONE kidney to afford a couple beers, which leaves you one kidney leftover! Everybody wins!
At a bar for a game-watch:
When I’m at a bar, I prefer to step-up my drinking. I’m a huge fan of pale ales. Sierra Nevada out of the tap is one of my favorites.
Tailgating in Iowa City at 6 am (no, I’m not exaggerating):
Big Ten (“This one goes to 11”) games kick-off at 11 am. A typical home game weekend is: go out Friday night on the Ped Mall til the bars close at 2. Hit up Pizza on DBQ or Panchero’s for a late-night snack. Pass out until 5:45. Roll out of bed, throw on your layers and load up your friend’s truck. Fire up the grill and have a beverage in your hand by 6:15 am. My drink of choice is a spicy Bloody Mary. I will stand by the declaration that my brother and I make some of the best Bloodys you’ve ever had. Ever.
With a delicious juicy steak:
If you have a favorite red wine, you should drink your favorite. I personally like a nice spicy Zinfandel with my steak. (Not White Zinfandel. That is the white trash of wine, put it down. If you like sweet, try a Riesling or a Gewürztraminer for god’s sake.) I also like Pinot Noirs and Cabernets. Pick one you like!
For an after-dinner drink:
I love mixing alcohol into my coffee. My favorite is coffee and Frangelico, but there are many liqueurs that work quite well. Baileys, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, whatever tickles your fancy.
What are some of your favorites?
Ladies... 
Andie, I love you.
And I love you, Alana! mouah!
Ahem, some of us prefer our drinks sans alcohol. I’ll take a Coke thank you.
i like the pale ales too, lady andrea. a local brewery, boulevard, makes a fantastic one, and i made some friends last summer that work at the sierra nevada brewery in chico. i’ve been trying to make a road trip happen ever since.
otherwise, whiskey, from the bottle; best enjoyed with friends who love you immensely or when completely alone.
+1 on the alchie post!
yes but once you leave the game, you’re going to have to sell your OTHER kidney to fill your gas tank to get home.
…other than that, i like yuengling, most of the guinness varieties (guinness draught and harp most of all), vodka and cranberry, sapphire gin and tonics with extra lime, and tom collins. oh, and wine. and long walks on the beach.
SA, if I was doing a non-alcoholic post Diet Coke woudl top the list. But this one was purely for the drinkers. : )
Boulevard isn’t that “local,” it’s all over the place. I enjoy both their Wheat beer and Pale Ale. ; )
At a ball game: a Budweiser, unless I’m at the Bulls game, because then I get a mai-tai.
At the bar-depends on the bar. Sometimes, it’s Goose Island 312. Sometimes I live the High Life. If I’m at a bar in Missouri, I have a Boulevard. Sadly, Andie, they’re not as everywhere as you’d like. I’ve yet to find it in the Chi.
In the morning, I do love a Bloody Mary, but I also like a good screwdriver.
With a steak, I like red, too, though I love me some shiraz.
After dinner? Milk.
Oh, Milk is one of my favorites. I drink it with almost every meal.
Shiraz is not my favorite red. I like the Zin, Cab and Pinots better. Merlot is not that great either. But like I said, I think everybody should just drink what they like. I’ve had really expensive wine that I thought tasted like poop and I’ve had cheap screw-top that was delicious.
No Boulevard in Chicago? Really? That surprises me. I can’t think of *too* many places that have it on tap, but I’ve had it lots of places in the bottle (which is almost as good).
The lack of Boulevard is because of Goose Island. It’s a trade I’m ok with.
And Merlot is just wrong.
Yes, Big Ten football creates some really early drinking days! Esp. on Michigan v. OSU day, the mimosas and ‘marys flow like water (I just can’t bring myself to drink beer pre-noon).
I also happen to be a Zin fan. IMO White zin is nothing more than a vinigary wine cooler. Blech!!! A good Beaujolais or Shiraz is also always welcome.
beer at the bar (or in saints-land, at the superdome): abita purple haze. i’m a southern girl – it’s what we do.
for tailgates, now that i’m really past the age for jello shots, i prefer vodka-and-cranberry. ‘course, we get the late games in SEC land, so we don’t have to do brunch for the tailgate. though a mimosa before college gameday would be nice… :)
with a steak: my favorite virginia winery, linden, does an AMAZING claret that i would kill to get my hands on here in the bayou. don’t sleep on VA wine!
as for the after-dinner drink, i’m a sucker for the white russian. it was the first drink i ever learned how to make, not to mention the fact that “the big lebowski” was our civic religion in college…
OK, now i want a drink. :)
There’s a winery outside Iowa City that does a great red called Chambourcin. It’s hard to find, I’ve only seen that kind at one other winery and NEVER in a store. But I love it. I should just buy a case.
There’s nothing better than a drunk chick.
Ironically, there’s nothing worse than one, either.
You need a girl who can hold her liquor. And I don’t mean drink a lot, but I mean be able to identify when enough is enough. I have a phase when I’m a delightful drunk: funny, singing, friendly. But I’ve gotten old enough to recognize when I’m slipping out of that phase.
Lately, I have been enjoying shots of Patron. And Andie, I agree with you on knowing when to say when. It is critcal to going the distance on all day/night drinking marathons.
I shall never forget St. Patty’s Day of my sophomore year of college. I started in the Phi Tau Beer Olympics at noon and drank til about 3 am. You just gotta pace yourself. : )
Okay, in the morning I like Bailey’s in my coffee. At the game, pop only because I’m usually the one driving, and at a bar I try to order something different every round. For desert, try Chambourd with heavy whipping cream in an cordial glass. Great post Andie!
When at the bar: Summertime, Tanqueray and tonic. Wintertime, Scotch and soda. When I’m mixing my scotch I’m not particular.
After-dinner: Balvenie 12-year Doublewood (the Maclaren in a pinch), or calvados if they’ve got it.
I’m a red wine drinker by nature, too. I”ve been on a pinot kick lately, but Australian Shiraz blends were my first love.
Pre-dinner: a kir royale or a Tanqueray martini, dry with three blue cheese olives, depending on what dinner looks like.
When I drink beer it’s either the High Life or something crazy-dark–I’m not crazy about most stuff in between, especially now that we can’t get beloved Bell’s products here in Chicago.
Cinnamongirl, I love a Bailey’s coffee. Someone called it an old lady drink, once, but I didn’t care.
For those of you that live in Chicago, you might try brunch at the Bin Wine Cafe in Bucktown. Bloody Mary and Mimosa flights!
Bell’s Oberon and Two-Heart are both awesome.
I love dirty gin martinis with olives. Mmmmm.
@lady andrea: i mean more “local” meaning the brewery is here in kansas city where i live. :) but i’m glad to hear the love of boulevard is widespread…
@cinnamon girl and bristlesage: if baileys is an old lady drink, then i want to be an old lady.
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