Brown & Orange

When it comes to watching football, beer isn’t the only beverage game in town. Frosty beers are always a fine choice, especially for pairing with football’s favorite foods like wings and nachos, but cocktails also have their place at the bar. So for football season, bartenders from each NFL team’s hometown concocted the perfect drink to represent their team. Enter the Brown & Orange, a Cleveland Browns-themed cocktail from bartender Dave Taha.

“This cocktail is basically just whiskey and bitters because Cleveland Browns fans are just that—drunk and bitter,” says Taha. A healthy slug of rye whiskey leads the way, followed by amaro and two types of bitters. But the drink’s not all about bitterness. “The Amaro Nonino Quintessentia lends a touch of sweetness, which acts as the hope we fans have for a perennially doomed team,” he adds.

Game day cocktails shouldn’t involve too many flourishes, lest you miss opening kickoff or the game-winning drive while you’re making drinks. That’s why the Brown & Orange is made right in the glass it’s served in, no shaker, mixing glass or strainer required. “No fanfare, just the basics, on ice, in a glass,” says Taha.

Mix a couple of these together, and may the best team win. Or may you enjoy the drinks such that you don’t care so much about the result. Either way, you’re good.

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