Cocktail Thursday: Arkansas State Edition

If your Georgia Bulldogs are taking the field this Saturday in front of what we hope to be a pink-clad army of rabid fans who love the ‘Dawgs and hate cancer, you could probably use a drink.

Turns out, we can help you with that.

As we discussed over the summer, and as Nathan and Justin explained on the Arkansas State Preview episode of Chapel Bell Curve, Blake Anderson’s Red Wolves are a better football team than perhaps many Bulldog fans realize. We don’t see the visitors from Jonesboro regularly, and it’s unlikely any of you took the time to catch their opener against SMU or last week’s decisive Arkansas State victory over UNLV.

But the Red Wolves are currently 27th in the nation in passing offense behind junior QB Logan Bonner and 46th in scoring offense. It’s not out of the question that Arkansas State could put up some points on a Bulldog defense that has suffered a coverage breakdown or two in the early going.

I don’t think the Red Wolves are going to win this one. But they’re good enough to be a solid test heading into next weekend’s top ten matchup against Notre Dame. Don’t read too much into this one, okay?

Remember that life is about enjoying time with those you love while you can. Not to get too depressing here, but there simply aren’t enough days for any of us. So drink it in.

And if you so choose, I’d suggest you drink in a Pink Hound. You may find this hard to believe, but I don’t have a lot of pink drinks in my cocktail collection. But I think this one will do the trick.

It’s a different spin on the Greyhound, one of the oldest drinks in the cocktail lexicon, and a staple of early twentieth century bar books. The traditional Greyhound includes grapefruit juice and either gin or vodka. For this updated version you’ll need:

• 1 ounce of thyme simple syrup

• 1 and ¹⁄₂ ounces vodka

• 2 ounces of pink grapefruit juice

• a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and a grapefruit wheel for garnish

Simple syrups are a great thing to spruce up any bartender’s arsenal. Thyme simple syrup is made by combining a cup of sugar, a cup of filtered water and 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then allowing the mixture to cool and removing the thyme.

Once you’ve made that, combine the syrup with the other ingredients over ice, shake to combine, then strain into a glass and garnish.

There’s no college football on television tonight to speak of, but feel free to use this as the Open Thread for any NFL football or other stuff you feel like getting into. Until later...

Go ‘Dawgs!!!