> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.dailydetroit.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Live It Up This Summer With These 8 Mixed Drinks With A Michigan Theme - URL: https://www.dailydetroit.com/michigan-drinks/ - Published: 2017-06-12T18:47:48.000Z - Updated: 2017-06-13T02:12:18.000Z - Author: Sven Gustafson - Tags: Faygo, Michigan Booze, Michigan Mixed Drinks, #wordpress, #Import 2024-02-25 18:12 Recently, your crack Daily Detroit crew gathered together to unwind for a little house party. As the night wore on and the drinks flowed, the talk turned, as it does, from blogging strategy to cocktail recipes with a Michigan or Detroit theme. I instantly thought of the “Nuge,” a perfectly trashy drank named after — and fully befitting the legacy of — Detroit’s own Ted Nugent. A friend of mine named Marc McFinn, the former singer of Ann Arbor punk band Mazinga, served it to me in a plastic cup at a mutual friend’s backyard gathering last year. “I was unemployed around the same time weird ass flavored vodkas started hitting the market,” [he explained](http://8woodblog.com/faygo-vernors-and-the-nuge-5-michigan-themed-cocktails-for-summertime/?ref=dailydetroit.com). “A new world of possibilities opened up before me. Cheap cocktails that didn’t taste like rubbing alcohol.” We’ll get to that one in due time. In the meantime, here are a bunch of Michigan- and Detroit-themed cocktails, lovingly curated by your Daily Detroit staff, just in time for hot weather and garden parties. ### **1\. Michigan Mojito** [![5766668670_dcf4fcf66a_z](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/05/5766668670_dcf4fcf66a_z-300x300.jpg)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/05/5766668670%5Fdcf4fcf66a%5Fz.jpg?ref=dailydetroit.com) While admittedly a bit labor-intensive, Mojitos are about as refreshing as summer cocktails get. Give them a jolt of color and tartness with the addition of fresh Michigan cherries. 3-4 fresh cherries Mint leaves 2-3 lime wedges 1 ounce simple syrup (recipe), or more to taste 1-½ ounce rum Club soda Muddle the first three ingredients in the bottom of a highball glass or cocktail shaker, if you want to strain some of the mashed-up flotsam. In a highball, add rum, ice and top with soda and stir well. In a shaker, add rum, shake well, strain over ice, add soda and stir. Add simple syrup to taste, since it can be tricky to get the mix right. ### ### **2\. The Hoover** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2014/12/honest-johns-detroit-1024x511.jpg) Google Street View of Honest John’s I’m borrowing this one straight from the bar menu of Honest?John’s as a tip of the hat to former owner John Thompson and his colorful life story. He renovated the old Cass Corridor bar where his [mother once picked up Johns](http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/honest-angel/Content?oid=2173751&ref=dailydetroit.com) and moved his business there in 2002(?). 1 Miller High Life 1 shot of Kessler American blended whiskey ### **3\. The Hummer** Any list of Michigan-themed cocktails must include The Hummer, the adult milkshake-cocktail that was [invented at Bayview Yacht Club](http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/the-hummer-cocktail-born-in-detroit/Content?oid=2147574&ref=dailydetroit.com) in 1968. I’ve made more of these as a bartender than I care to recall, frankly. Nothing puts you as deep in the weeds as an order of 20 of them. So there have definitely been times where I wanted to travel back in time and, uh, persuade its inventor, Mr. Jerome Adams, to go in a different direction. Objectively speaking, it’s a fine enough drink to cap a nice dinner — just don’t order it if your bartender is really busy. Also, I use Myers dark rum to add richness, and because as a rum drinker, Bacardi is the most boring of rums. 1 1/2 ounce Myers’s dark rum 2 scoops vanilla ice cream Blend until the blender hums. ### **4\. The Nuge** [![Uncle Ted never drank this, I'm quite certain.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/05/the-nuge.png)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/05/the-nuge.png?ref=dailydetroit.com) Uncle Ted never drank this, I’m quite certain. [From my friend](http://8woodblog.com/faygo-vernors-and-the-nuge-5-michigan-themed-cocktails-for-summertime/?ref=dailydetroit.com), who invented it: “When Pinnacle introduced its whipped cream flavor the rubber really hit the road. It was begging to be combined with Vernors. … The only moniker befitting this explosion of flavor was ‘The Nuge.’ In tribute to an era when Uncle Ted was famous for being a bitchin’ guitarist and the spokesman for Vernors. Sadly even people old enough to remember the 80s forgot about the Nuge/Vernors partnership.” 1-½ ounce whipped cream vodka Vernors Pour over ice, preferably in a plastic cup or a Thermos. Of course, Ted Nugent himself would probably not drink this. ### **5\. The Gnome Will Get You Home** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2014/12/vernors-drinks-1024x462.jpg) This is simple, and was thought of at a local sports game watching the sportsing and the whiskey was rank. Just, terrible. It’s just dump Vernors in whatever horrible, cheap, bad-decision “bourbon” or whiskey to taste. It’s amazing at masking the flavor as it’s stronger than most other “ginger ales.” 1 Shot of terrible whiskey, add Vernors to taste ### **6\. The Ambassador Bridge** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/09/3098090727_ed5cd19daf_o.jpg) Ambassador Bridge. Photo by Mark Goebel, Creative Commons license. The idea behind this one is simple. Bridging countries through booze and pop. Drink a bit out of a 20 oz bottle of Faygo Rock and Rye, then refill with Canadian Club. Carefully mix, enjoy. ### **7\. Two James Sun** The most recent addition to the list, with the relaunch of Arctic Sun. Having gotten our hands on a bottle, we found it to be a flavor reminiscent of a sweet grapefruit. Vodka didn’t work great, but the Two James Gin cut the sweet down a bit and worked wonders. 1.5 ounces Two James Gin, 3 parts Arctic Sun ### **8\. Tijuana Taxi** [![2835484702_587ea7ae60_z](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/05/2835484702_587ea7ae60_z.jpg)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/wordpress/2016/05/2835484702%5F587ea7ae60%5Fz.jpg?ref=dailydetroit.com) This one admittedly didn’t originate from any particular Michigan theme, except for the fact that I mixed many Tijuana Taxis when I worked as a bartender on Mackinac Island. To make it properly Detroit-y, sub in Cabresto tequila (whose business operations are based in Detroit) and you’ve got all the justification you need. This shot is essentially a Mexican coffee on speed. It hits you from a couple different angles and will definitely give you The Power. You’ll need an espresso machine or maybe some of those Starbucks espresso shot minicans to make it — if you go the latter route, I’d probably ease up on the coffee liqueur, since that stuff is already pretty sweet. Mix it all over ice in a shaker and strain into a tumbler. 1 shot espresso, chilled ¾ ounce tequila ¾ ounce coffee liqueur *Creative Commons photos [via Kyle Adams](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kyleandkelly/5766668670/in/photolist-9MzFFU-4TvL8p-5ooSLo-5ep4Ae-2bGHWe-4sJW41-4tGGDT-9GPKML-oZfMG2-bwp9Xs-7n2eqe-nmzugr-9RMFyn-4p7VuG-atuEqR-4P3Yo8-9NuVwv-4KPu7R-9Nz3As-bsS3Vg-5en46L-ecVQ3-2Pmqz4-hL3zY-52fSpZ-3uv5C9-og7Qv-6hJsPF-5etsqJ-7UPoZ9-3MQpL-J8STL-cnt3Bs-TsEuw-4P3UDB-9ZDZAs-3uuMMd-7UPoAL-4y65BT-GR1HtU-cAc2XY-5eMRmk-3ZM6P-9bpzyE-7ViFNL-tSfxh-5BeNje-ptzBaL-9qS9Q8-96twCQ?ref=dailydetroit.com) and Max Sparber. Daily Detroit takes no responsibility for the outcomes of drinking said drinks and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Drink with conviction, but responsibly.*