Leisure

The End Zone

Tailgating is a great American institution — far superior to the English alternative, which is to hunt down any fans of the opposing team and beat the heck out of them. But it has downsides, not the least of which is staying awake.

Tailgating starts either in the morning for a kickoff around 1 p.m., when you're tired from getting up so early and perhaps from staying up so late the night before, or lasts all afternoon for a night kickoff, when your body is likely wearing out from all the excitement and, um, intoxifying atmosphere. Add in the food-coma effects of a lot of heavy food and the fact that football has a lot of downtime, and you're lucky to see the third-quarter kickoff after a successful tailgating party.

What you need is our good friend caffeine, the same thing that carries you through that 9-to-5 job Monday through Friday. But you don't want straight coffee, particularly in Georgia in September, when the No. 1 requirement for any adult beverage is that it be cold.

Thus we give you the iced-coffee julep. All the kick of our regular julep with enough caffeine to keep you going at least long enough to have another coffee julep.

The proper coffee julep is all about preparation. You need to set aside 15 minutes during the workweek to create a vat of the stuff. You can't whip it up on site, and you shouldn't make it in single-drink proportions. It's a party; be prepared to share.

We recommend using a dark-roast coffee brewed to be strong. Chickory coffee from New Orleans (CDM, Luzianne, French Market) is ideal.

Iced-Coffee Julep

4 cups cheap bourbon (the subtleties of a top-shelf brand will be lost, so don't waste the money)
2 cups Kahlua
3 cups strong coffee
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Sprigs of mint or cinnamon sticks (optional)

Make a simple syrup by dissolving the sugar into boiling water. Pour the bourbon, the Kahlua, the coffee and 2 cups of the simple syrup into a large bowl or pot. Mix thoroughly. Store the julep mixture in bottles you can bring to the tailgating party. On game day, serve the drink over crushed ice with mint or cinnamon for a garnish if you desire. For Northern road trips or games after the fall chill arrives, you can make the drink with hot coffee and not serve it over ice.