Cocktail Thursday: Vanderbilt Edition

If you're looking at the rest of the Georgia Bulldog schedule and wondering how we ended up in a must-win ballgame against Vanderbilt, you could probably use a drink. I can help you with that.

The truth is, if you'd asked many Bulldog fans how they'd feel about being 4-2 halfway through the 2016 season, they'd have taken it. Given the youth, inexperience, breaking in period for a new coaching staff, and worries about key players coming off injury, one could make the argument that expecting more than this would have been asking entirely too much.

But as is often the case, the story of this UGA football season will be written in the second half of the ledger. That’s where we’ll see a resurgent Florida, an Auburn team that was supposed to be coach shopping by now but is ranked in the top 25 instead, and a Tech team that has looked just dangerous enough to be a problem.

Point being, this Bulldog team needs to take one game at a time, but in the aggregate could easily wind up anywhere from 7-5 to 9-3. 10-2 isn't completely off the table, but neither is 6-6.

There are promising signs all over the place. Brooks detailed several of them earlier. But it’s important to remember that all that promise may still translate into a loss or two down the back stretch. That shouldn't necessarily change your perception of how this season has gone.

If this team struggles a little against a not terribly good Vanderbilt team ona short week headed into a bye, don't lose your cool. Just take the edge off with a Rusty Anchor ....

There’s some prep work here. First tire going to need to make some pear puré. Basically, it’s apple sauce, but with pears. Peel, core, and cube two pears (bosc pears are a good bet), then blend until smooth. You’'ll need two tablespoons for the drink.

You're also going to make some ginger syrup. Start by peeling a two inch ginger root piece and placing it in a pot with three cups of water and a half cup of sugar. Bring to a boil for two minutes, stirring consistently. Then let cool and remove the ginger root (you can and probably should do this the night before).

Now let's put everything together. Add 1 and ¹⁄₂ ounces of ginger syrup, 2 tablespoons of pear purée, ¹⁄₂ ounce of lime juice, 1 ounce of spiced rum and 1 ounce of light rum to a cocktail shaker over ice, shake vigorously and strain into a highball glass. Top with ginger ale and serve. You could certainly garnish it with a pear slice. You could also use your leftover pear purée and ginger syrup to make another. Until later...

Go ‘Dawgs!!!