We took Bird and Deal to their first college football game last weekend. We enjoyed a gorgeous weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of my alma mater and the town where I grew up. Luckily, UVa. beat Duke, though not handily enough for my taste. The boys wrapped their arms around each other and swayed and learned the words to the Good Old Song like any Wahoo legacy should. We were all outfitted in orange and blue and proudly cheered for Virginia and groaned when the refs made painfully bad calls.
I hadn’t been to a Virginia football game since 1990. Seriously. Charlottesville hasn’t been home to me for a long time, so many years have passed since my last visit. Back in the day boys wore blue blazers and orange and blue ties to football games. Girls wore Laura Ashley dresses and grosgrain bows. I might have duct taped little sampler bottles of Virginia Gentleman to my inner thigh to make it past security in the student section. There was nothing ladylike about doing so and nothing gentlemanly ever came from drinking that stuff. Bourbon was de rigeur then, and no tailgate was complete without it.
My old friend Myron graciously hosted us for a fantastic tailgate right by Scott Stadium. Bird and Deal played football and made new friends while Mac Daddy and I visited with old friends. We reveled in the postcard perfect Virginia fall day while we ate fried chicken and drank cold beer. Fortunately, the Virginia Gentleman days were behind us. So were the ties and dresses. However, in true Wahoo spirit, we had to imbibe from the spirits of our history. And that’s when I discovered honey bourbon.
Wahoowa
1-2 ounces Wild Turkey American Honey
splash club soda
Orange twist
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Pour in honey bourbon. Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with an orange twist.
Now sit back and enjoy some college football. Wahoowa!
