Drink Responsibly and Pay Less

By: Mariah Brooks

Mariah-Brooks@mocs.utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA,Tenn. (UTC/Loop) — In college, we are all on a budget. No one wants to pay an arm and leg for alcohol. Therefore I took it upon myself to do a little research, finding some easy and cheap drinks that can be made at home.

The research was  simple. There are tons of recipes for quick and easy cocktails but I only chose eight that were cheap, good and give a punch.My sources came from a website About.com and a book called Cocktails for Dummies. These sources are  helpful for any amateur bartender who is looking to explore new alcohol beverages.

Before I list the eight recipes I would like to share some of my small wisdom I’ve learned about mixing drinks. The first rule to buying cheap alcohol is that you have to remember that you get what you pay for. My advice is to mix the alcohol with different juices or cokes. It will dilute the taste and go down more smooth. Here are some cheap alcohols that I  have used:

• Burnetts
• Svedka
• Pinnacle
• E&J
• New Amsterdam
• Evan Williams
• Pedro Lopez tequila

I also talked to some of my friends and asked them how they get around paying alot of money for alcohol. One of my friends,  Kristen Smith, said that when she goes to the liquor store she isn’t afraid to ask the salesman or woman at the store for advice. Kristen said, ” I’ve made some of my best drinks just by asking them and they are always good but inexpensive.”   This is something that I generally do myself and  most of the time when I ask they give me really good advice.

Another friend Jason Murphy said he often split the cost of the alcohol with his friends. He said, “At times you may want to buy your own, but you get more for your money when you split the cost.”  This is something I’ve seen a lot of college students do; it’s less expensive to the share the cost.

Here are some of the recipes that I found on the web at About.com: Cocktails

With a little a practice anyone can make a drink like this

1. Lemon Drop  Martini

2. High Ball

3. Rum and Coke

4. Woo Woo

The other source I was the  book called  ” Cocktails for Dummies.” It has a alphabetical list of drinks with directions on how to make them. I only chose the drinks  I thought would be cheap and good:

5. Melon Ball

• 3/4 oz. Midori
• 1 oz. Vodka
• 4 oz. Orange Juice

6. Screwdriver

• 1 1/4 oz. Vodka
• 4 oz. Orange Juice

7. Purple Passion

• 1 1/4 oz. Vodka
• 2 oz. Grapefruit Juice
• 2 oz. Grape Juice

8. Cuba Libre

• 1 3/4 oz. Bacardi Rum
• Cola
• Juice of 1/4 Lime

Although these are just some of the recipes, this is a good start to being your own bartender on a budget. Just remember alcohol adds pounds and always drink responsibly . Cheers to having money in your pockets!