Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Canned cocktails are a full-fledged capital-T Thing right now, which as a lazy, lazy man is great news for me. Unfortunately, too many drinks that look like properly mixed sippers are merely pretenders. For example, Jack Daniel’s and El Jimador have their own spiked cans out there, neither of which contain a drop of their signature spirits within.
Fortunately, usurpers to the crown abound. Austin Cocktails, based in the heart of Texas (where the stars at night are big and bright, I’m told), has emerged from that crowded landscape with a handful of potent, unique recipes that promise bespoke-style drinks 8.4 ounces at a time. Are they any good? Can they outshine a macro-brewed malt beverage? Let’s find out.
Cucumber Vodka Mojito: B
First, an admission. This isn’t my first time drinking one of these. I crushed one in the walk from the parking lot to the Miller Park gates to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates but an honest to god beating on the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers. All I really remember from that is that it was easy to drink and a proper way to play catch-up after getting caught in traffic on the way out from Madison.