On Sunday, millions of Americans will get together to gorge on greasy food, drink copious amounts and marvel at television commercials. Oh yeah, there'll also be a pretty important football game.
But we're tired of drinking cheap beer at Super Bowl parties. It's the biggest day of the season, after all! So we asked bartenders from around Super Bowl XLVIII's host city, New York, for cocktail recipes that go well with popular game-day dishes and snacks.
If you'll be ordering pizza on Sunday, you won't be alone: Domino's says the Super Bowl is its busiest day of the year by far. To match your pie's tangy tomato sauce and to cut through all the gooey mozzarella cheese, we recommend the Amaretto "Stoned" Sour. This powerful and citrusy concoction comes from Jimmy at the James, a rooftop bar that combines big-screen TVs, gourmet bites and sophisticated elixirs, making for one of the best spots in Manhattan to watch football.
Another Super Bowl staple is a big pot of spicy chili. To complement this hearty classic, Joaquín Simó has just the thing. The Duck & Cover, which you'll find on the menu at his watering hole Pouring Ribbons, mixes apple cider, maple syrup and ginger ale with vodka (though you can use any spirit you like) and pear brandy. The recipe is also easy to multiply for a crowd-pleasing punch.
Feeling more like Mexican? We turned to celebrity chef April Bloomfield's trendy establishment Salvation Taco. Its beverage director, Sam Anderson, created the Garden Cooler (pictured above), a sweet-and-savory tequila tipple, to pair with tacos, nachos or guacamole.
Should your Super Bowl bash be a hot-dogs-and-wings affair, we'd suggest the One-Two Punch. The refreshing Scotch-based, beer-topped cocktail was invented by Jeff Bell of famed bar PDT, where it can be ordered with a side of tater tots and a haute frank.
So fix one of these cocktails at your Super Bowl party, and no matter which team wins, you'll be a champ. Now let's play some football!