Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Drinks for the Democratic debates, Part 1


Four years ago, I wrote a five-part series about drinks for the Democratic debates.  Since the first Democratic debate for the 2020 nomination is tonight, it's time to revive the series.

The first item of business is the drinking game.  Unfortunately, Paul W. of You Might Notice A Trend is not creating drinking games this year; his experience with the 2016 election soured him on the idea.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that I've found three good ones at DebateDrinking.com, the site I used for the general election debates three years ago, Spectator USA, which is the funniest and most complex, and A.M. New York, which is the simplest.  I don't care which one my readers play, but please pick one.

Next, the drinks, one for each candidate in tonight's debate, which DebateDrinking.com lists as follows.
NIGHT 1
Wednesday, June 26
  • Cory Booker
  • Bill de Blasio
  • Julián Castro
  • John Delaney
  • Tulsi Gabbard
  • Jay Inslee
  • Amy Klobuchar
  • Beto O'Rourke
  • Tim Ryan
  • Elizabeth Warren
Follow over the jump for the drinks, one for each candidate.


I begin with Cory Booker, who claims to have never had a drink in his life.  I actually believe him, as he thinks margaritas are made with fruit and vodka.  A real drinker would know better.  Just for that, I'm recommending the one margarita recipe with fruit in its name from Tipsy Bartender, Passionfruit Mango Margarita.


Of course, if one wanted to be true to Booker's no alcohol regimen, one could serve a mocktail, but what's the fun in that?


As Mayor of New York City, the obvious choice for Bill De Blasio would be a Manhattan.  However, he actually lives in Brooklyn, so I'm recommending The Brooklyn from Common Man Cocktails.

The Brooklyn cocktail is the ugly step child of the Manhattan cocktail. Historically, the Brooklyn cocktail never caught on and there were around five publicized recipes that just didn't hit it off with the customers. People could never find the love of the brooklyn like they did with the Manhattan and even the Bronx cocktail.

We give the Brooklyn cocktail a go with the first time and see how that goes! It has a lot in common with the other cocktails in this segment of classics and the best part of the tasting is getting a chance to see one of the cocktails that battled to get manhattan style status in the history books.
I guess the cocktail, like De Blasio, is an acquired taste.


According to Texas Monthly, Julian Castro's current favorite drink is Diet Snapple Lemon.  However, when he named his favorite comfort food, it was iced tea.  If one wanted a non-alcoholic drink, either would do, but I have the same reaction as I did to having a mocktail in honor of Booker — what's the fun in that?  Instead, I recommend America's Iced Tea from Tipsy Bartender.

If my readers think this drink is too strong, they can stick to Snapple.

John Delaney's favorite drink is a beer, especially an IPA.  This should be easy - no mixing!  Also, Delaney's home state of Maryland has a wide variety of locally brewed IPAs.



Since Tusli Gabbard represents Hawaii, the obvious choice would be a Blue Hawaiian.  However, she named her favorite comfort food as vegan cupcakes, so I'm recommending a cupcake drink instead.  Here's Tipsy Bartender's Chocolate Cupcake Cocktail.

This creamy shot is the perfect dessert martini for chocolate lovers!
I hope it's vegan!


Jay Inslee's favorite comfort food is M&M's, so my suggestion is M&M Shooters from Tipsy Bartender.




Amy Klobuchar's favorite comfort food, a baked potato, doesn't inspire much in the way of drinks besides vodka, and that's not very inspiring.  Neither is the video of her drinking a beer; I've already recommended a beer to salute John Delaney.  However, Minnesota does have an official cocktail, The Bootleg.  Watch Lunds & Byerlys show how one is made.

Mix up a batch of refreshing, citrusy Bootleg cocktails.
The booze used is Prairie Vodka, so the drink does tie into potatoes after all!


Beto O'Rourke used to be a hacker, so I suggest Hacker-Pschorr beer.  At least it's not an IPA.



Tim Ryan once said "I’ll drink a Miller Lite with you."  That makes for an easy suggestion, but I prefer something a bit more complex.  Besides, we already have beers for Delaney and O'Rourke and I will recommend two beers for the last candidate.  He told Eater that his favorite comfort food is ice cream, so how about an ice cream drink?  I recommend the Ice Cream Martini from Tipsy Bartender.


That's more fun than a Miller Lite and more fattening, too!


Last but not least, Elizabeth Warren drank a beer when she announced her candidacy, in fact, a Michelob Ultra.  That's fine, but I prefer Samuel Adams Boston Lager, which is what I think she should have been drinking, as it's from Massachusetts and has patriotic connections.



That's it for tonight's debate.  Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow, when I do this all over again for the next ten candidates debating!

4 comments:

  1. I... can TRY to make a drinking game rule.

    Every time Joe Biden tries to talk like a Millennial but ends up sounding like a Baby Boomer, take two shots

    Every time Bernie Sanders talks dismissively towards a woman candidate, take a shot

    Every time Liz Warren or Kamala Harris sounds like sage wise life forms that WILL SAVE US ALL, cheer and get 10,000 more people signed up to vote, THEN take a shot.

    ...

    Yes, I have a bias.

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    1. Hey, Paul! Good to see you!

      Thanks for the rules. I'll put them in tomorrow's entry.

      If Joe Biden sounds like a Boomer, then he's still acting younger than he really is. He was born in 1942, so he's actually a member of the generation before the Boomers, the Silent Generation.

      I share your bias. Harris the first choice of my wife and I, while Warren is our second choice. Consider yourself in good company.

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  2. Tipsy Bartender is a fun mob. I enjoy their videos, when I have patience to sit through them. The Maryland menu whetted my appetite (that's where most of my remaining family lives, and I spent a lot of years growing up in the Old Line State.) Was that image the full menu, though? Coz there's no crabs or oysters on it. (To say nothing of Southern Maryland stuffed ham which is admittedly an obscure local specialty.) Maryland used to be famous for its seafood, before pollution, overfishing and shellfish diseases screwed up the Chesapeake Bay.

    As for light beers, why would anyone admit to liking them, or be filmed drinking one? It's like they're saying "I'm not such a square that I'm teetotal, but I don't want to appear hardcore by drinking full-strength beer." It's milquetoast crap like that that makes Dems seem like wusses.

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    Replies
    1. Skyy, Emma, and the gang are a fun bunch to watch. I've been following them since shortly after the channel launched. My best friend from college posted under the pseudonym of "Narb Xorbian" early on (it took me a while to figure out it was him) and trolled me by asking for jello, especially jello shots. My search on YouTube led to Tipsy Bartender and I've been posting their videos ever since.

      Did you read my latest response to you on Kylo catching up to Anakin — Star Wars baby names for Fathers Day 2019? I bragged about my family's Maryland connections there. I have Carrolls in my family tree and they're supposedly related to the Founding Father Carrolls of Maryland. And, yeah, that would be an incomplete Maryland menu without the seafood.

      You're on to something with the observation about Democrats and light beers, but I think it's more about the calories than the alcohol content. It's a way of having your cake and eating it, too.

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