Wisconsin tailgating: what, uh, are we going to do this year?

In these unprecedented times any sense of normalcy that you can achieve is a gift. The Wisconsin Badgers football team will be returning to action on October 24th and while there are a lot of complicated feelings about this, at least for me, it is admittedly wonderful to have something to look forward to.

Wisconsin football has been a constant in my life since I was old enough to watch football. My dad went to Wisconsin and even though I grew up on the East Coast I’ve been attending Badgers games since I was little. Despite not living in Madison for a decade I’ve held season tickets and returned to the same tailgate, at the same spot, with the same food and drinks, every year with my friends and family.

Not going to Madison for football this year is going to be weird. I will be going over a year without seeing many people that I’m used to seeing regularly in the fall. I know many of you are feeling the same way and so while I was struggling to come up with something to write today, my wife suggested I write about how awesome our new air fryer is and the tailgate food it could make.

On its own, a great idea, but then she said why don’t you incorporate other school’s and people’s tailgate traditions so that everyone can try and recreate gameday experiences at home this year! So, with that being said if you have any fun recipes (food or drink) that you’d like to share please email me at drewhamm5 at gmail dot com and I’ll include it in a future post leading up to the opening game against Illinois.

Here is our first suggestion for something fun to make at your home tailgate...obviously it’s going to be a beverage. Most people like mimosas or bloody marys to get ready for the 11 a.m. kick against Northwestern but what if I told you there was another, better, breakfast cocktail?

Photo by May Tse/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

The Corpse Reviver No. 2 does exactly what it says it’ll do: cures your hangover and gets you ready for a puntatstic game!

Here is how I recommend you make them:

1.75 oz London dry din
.75 oz orange liqueur (I prefer Pierre Ferrand dry curacao, but there are many options)
.75 oz Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano (whichever you can procure)
.75 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

combine all ingredients in a shaker; shake; strain; pour into a glass rinsed with absinthe

If you have a little mister bottle that works perfectly to coat your glass with the absinthe. You by no means need fancy coupes for this drink, as I’ve made them in red Solo cups and they’ve still tasted amazing. If you want to lengthen the drink you can pour it over ice, but it does not need it.