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Hello, Commish here. Every once in a while one of our committee members gets to do something pretty awesome. That person is not always me since I live in San Antonio, and it is not necessarily a hotbed of college football-related activity during bowl season. San Antonio only has one bowl game. Maybe, one day I can convince Rico’s Nachos to create a bowl game for some G5 teams here, and we can dump nacho cheese on the winning coach. Contact them here and request it.

One place that has a ton of bowl games is Orlando, Florida. Home of our Pop-Tart Correspondent, Katie. The town is littered with bowl games from the beginning of bowl season through the end. Along with these bowls come special events thrown by the bowl games and brands themselves. Katie was lucky enough to attend one of these events, and I’ll let her tell you about it. Enjoy!

The Citrus Bowl Cocktail Competition.

The Citrus Bowl is celebrating its 80th anniversary, and they’re doing so many fun things in Orlando to commemorate this milestone.

One of the most fun things they did leading up to the game was host a cocktail competition where the winner’s drink will be featured as the official cocktail of the 80th Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

The rules of this competition were simple. The entrants had to feature either citrus or Cheez-Its (or both) in their cocktails, and they got very creative. Here are some notes on my fave drinks from the competition.

“I’m Feeling the Cheeziest, Coach” by Parker from The Edison at Disney Springs.

This was a riff on a Piña Colada, and it was so surprising with the cheesy savory flavors incorporated into such a traditionally sweet drink.

Who like’s cheesy coladas! Apparently everyone since it won the contest.

This next drink was made by Alex from Space 220. It was kind of like a caprese salad with tomato, basil, and Cheez-It notes. And also, who doesn’t love a little snack garnish??

Next up, this melon-flavored, very boozy drink was from Davin at the Broken Cage. Honestly, I was kinda shocked by how well the Cheez-Its paired with the melon, and the garnish was another fun snack.

I love a good Bloody Mary, and Sami from The Hideaway (one of my all-time fave Orlando establishments) made a fantastic spicy Bloody Mary. It was perfectly salty and had just enough heat. A great Bloody Mary with a little Cheez-It chaser.

Dan from Permanent Vacation made a delightful rum-based tropical-style drink with a Gouda garnish that looked like pineapple and paired perfectly with the boozy sweetness of the drink. It was another fun snack paired with a delicious drink (truly a great theme in this competition!).

Chase from Barkhaven made a very refreshing, almost mimosa-like libation with a little Tajin rim. It was light and citrusy, and the spicy rim was a fun start to the drink.

This was just the first round of drinks! There was a second round for the 4 top bartenders to go head-to-head, and no, I did not finish any of these drinks and definitely had to limit myself to just a few sips each of each one.

The Second Round of Drinks!

Here are some pics of the fun second round drinks:

What a fun night and a fun celebration of the Citrus Bowl’s 80th anniversary!

Thank you for reading.

If you could please just click on the link below, as each click helps keep the Committee going!

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