Spring Jam: the last hurrah before finals. There is something about a weekend filled with concerts that makes college kids want to drink for a week straight.
After your fourth Natty Light (honestly, it’s impressive that you made it to four without experiencing extreme self-loathing), you’ll probably want to drink something — really, anything — else. Here are some Spring Jam cocktails inspired by the weekend’s artist lineup. Note: I’m not an experienced mixologist. I just like drinking.
Performance: Gloriana
Drink: Spiked southern tea
If you plan to see this country music group, you probably like whiskey (or at least pretend to). Step one: Break out that old bottle of whiskey and pour a shot or two into your mason jar. Step two: Make some sweet tea (which is essentially chilled black tea with sugar). Step three: Add lemons slices and mint leaves.
Voilà : You now have a refreshing drink fit for a Nashville summer, instead of standing on the front lawn of Coffman Union, surrounded by a bunch of girls wearing plaid and cowboy boots.
Performance: The Mowgli’s
Drink: Mowgli’s jungle juice
Regardless of whether you like the Mowgli’s or not, you at least recognize the name from “The Jungle Book,” which means this concert is the perfect opportunity to drink some jungle juice — except this version won’t be dispensed from a shady Gatorade cooler.
For Mowgli’s jungle juice, you’ll need vodka, peach schnapps, coconut rum, strawberry Fanta, whatever fruit juice you can find and some strawberries. Mix the ingredients together for a strawberry-flavored, somewhat potent version of jungle juice.
Performance: Poliça
Drink: Bloody Mary
After Thursday night, you’re definitely going to need a drink that’ll help with your hangover, considering the Poliça concert starts at noon. This classic cocktail is a perfect way to get your day started and is really easy to make because it basically has two ingredients: vodka and bloody mary mix (unless you’re really ambitious and want to make your own mix).
The most fun part about bloodies is deciding which “garnishes” you want. This is inevitably going to be your breakfast, so make it count. Olives, pickles, bacon, celery, shrimp, mini cheeseburgers, you name it. If it can be put on a toothpick, it should go in your drink.
Performance: Mac Miller
Drink: Purple drank (not the kind you’re thinking)
Not sure why the rap community decided cough syrup was a tasty mixer, but it did.
Unless you actually have a cough, I don’t recommend drinking cough syrup. But, you can make a delicious drink that is also purple with just a few strategically-colored ingredients.
Just like in your preschool art class, you need mixers that, when blended together, turn purple. Cranberry juice and Blue Curacao combine to make an interesting shade of purple that can be adjusted depending on the amount of Curacao you use.
If you want the full “drank” experience, you can use grape vodka. If you don’t hate yourself, I would try a milder flavor of vodka, like lemon. Mix the three ingredients, and add some ice. You now have a super-cool “purple drank,” though this one might be slightly less dangerous to your health.
Performance: Mod Sun
Drink: Vodka lemonade
This drink is as complex as Mod Sun’s lyrics. The rapper mentions his love for vodka and lemonade in “Happy As Fu*k,” so you should oblige and drink this “original” concoction. You can go the basic route by mixing vodka with lemonade mix, or you can class it up a bit (I recommend the latter) with some store bought raspberry or strawberry lemonade.
If you really want to go all-out with this cocktail, blend some fruity lemonade yourself by pureeing fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries. Mix with vodka, and you’ve got yourself a Mod Sun-approved drink.