Kamikaze, Blitzkrieg, Jager Bomb, Liquid Machete—these words don't just imply warfare. Coincidentally, they are among UW-Madison students' favorite killer\ shots. For those over 21, that is. The Princeton Review ranks the party capital of the Midwest No. 3 for ""Lots of Hard Liquor"" and ""Lots of Beer."" Such a high reputation calls for high tolerances; to conquer these college drinking habits, bars must have ample supplies of alcohol. But what if students want to make their own drinks?
Whether it's the pre-game, game time, or post-game, beer definitely ranks high on the list of must-haves for students. A mere 78.87 miles separate Madison and Milwaukee, the home base of Miller Brewing Company, and another Wisconsin favorite, Leinenkugel's, is based in Chippewa Falls.
According to UW-Madison senior and Miller Girl Kathleen Lacci, ""The Milwaukee Brewers and Miller Park are just a few reasons [UW-Madison students] love Miller beer.""
While Wisconsin students certainly take pride in their Milwaukee-brewed beer, other favorites include Coors, New Glarus Spotted Cow and Corona. Feeding the college beer belly isn't hard to do, especially since beer is cheap.
Hard liquor is the key ingredient in many specialty drinks, and when served at the bars, drinks can vary in quality depending on the customer's request for rails, which use default or non-premium liquor, or bottles, which use name-brand liquor.
""The difference [between] high-end and low-end alcohol is the processing it goes through. The more processing any type of liquor goes through, the more smooth and pleasant the taste,"" said Jonny Chang, a UW-Madison senior and bartender at the Blue Velvet, 430 W. Gilman St. Drinking a Captain and Coke versus a standard rum and Coke may be more palatable, but also more expensive.
""I spend around $20 to $30 when I go out, but usually I get what's best for the dollar,"" UW-Madison senior Evan Cobb said.
Students on a college budget know that what's good isn't always affordable, but many bars offer drink specials for daily happy hours, including two-for-one deals that feature the establishment's recognized drinks.
Making your own drinks, however, can be another fix for a tight drinking budget.
Chang gives his version of what every student needs in his or her basic bar kit.
""In my opinion, a basic bar kit should include: a bottle opener, a martini shaker, a keg of delicious beer, your basic mixers (Coke, Sprite, tonic, sour mix, cranberry juice, orange juice, lemonade), some other mixers (passion fruit juice, pineapple juice), chilled glasses, a basic line of alcohol (vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, Triple Sec), a beer pong table, some beer pong balls, standard 12-ounce cups, shot glasses and a beer bong,"" Chang said.
Melody Gillis, a recent UW-Madison graduate and a bartender at the Church Key, 626 University Ave., agrees with Chang's alcohol recommendations, but also suggests tequila and a few types of schnapps as basic bar-kit staples.
""I really like Old Fashioneds,"" she said. ""Those are kind of easy and fun to make. So, brandy, maybe also.""
In addition to basic mixers, Gillis recommends buying drink mixes for more complicated drinks.
""So even if you have the main essentials, you can always make margaritas,"" she said. ""You can make daiquiris, you can make Long Islands.""
When asked why many students prefer bars over making their own drinks, Gillis said she thought it was ""mostly to socialize,"" but said also that going to bars is a good way ""to get good ideas for different kinds of drinks you may not know how to make yourself.""
Whether it's on tap or in the bottle, shaken or stirred, every student's basic bar kit adapts to individual tastes. Gillis' main advice for amateur bartending is simple.
""The best thing to do, I think, is just to experiment,"" she said. ""See what tastes good.""\
