Bloody Good Gin Bucket

In certain parts of the country, Gin Buckets are a college right of passage. They date back to midwestern collegiate football tailgates, where students dumped gin, a soda like Fresca and some citrus into a communal container. Then they’d consume the mixture—traditionally by propelling the drink into your mouth with a turkey baster. It’s not the classiest beverage in world, and, in what might be the understatement of the century, it’s not the classiest way to consume a beverage. But people with more refined taste buds who still want a taste of the tradition need not fret, because making a Gin Bucket appealing only takes a few extra ingredients. The Bloody Good Bucket is how to respect the historic gin bucket while not feeling like you’re drinking a toxic mixture.

The Bloody Good Bucket relies on the common base ingredients of a Gin Bucket (gin, soda and citrus) while upping the ante with more upscale ingredients (prosecco and dry curaçao). Dry curaçao has a deep orange flavor and less sweetness than you get with something similar like triple sec, giving the drink more complexity than a drink you’d traditionally turkey baste down your throat. The juniper-forward London Dry Gin is balanced out by zesty fresh grapefruit juice and semi-sweet prosecco. Finally, the Aranciata Rossa doubles down on the orange, making the whole thing taste like a spritzy, citrusy cup of joy.