The ice goes in the cups, never in the dispenser, or the whole batch waters down by halftime. The rest is juicing the limes the night before, so nobody's squeezing them on a tailgate in the early-season heat: fresh lime, tequila and orange liqueur go into jugs, and the lot only has to pour.
At the lot: Pour from the jugs over ice, with a salt rim if you want one. Homegating: Keep a jug in the fridge and pour as the game goes.
Home gear: a juicer, a small saucepan, two ½-gallon jugs with tight lids
25 MIN
At home, plus chilling overnight
10 MIN
At the lot
16
Serves
Ingredients
Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
Base
- 2 cups fresh lime juice (about 20 limes)
- 4 cups blanco tequila (about one 1-liter bottle)
- 2 cups orange liqueur
- 2 cups cold water
Serve
- ½ cup coarse salt, for the rims
- 4 limes, cut into wedges
- 20 lb ice for the cups, kept apart from the cooler ice
Steps
At home
- Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. That's about ¾ cup of simple syrup.
- Juice the limes and strain out the seeds.
- Stir the lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur, simple syrup and water together in a large pitcher or bowl. Taste it over a little ice. If it's too tart, add simple syrup a spoonful at a time.
- Pour it into the 2 jugs, cap them and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Cut the lime wedges and pack them in a sealed container.
At the lot
- Keep the jugs in the cooler until you're ready to pour. Shake each one before it comes out.
- Pour one jug into the pitcher, or into the dispenser set in a tub of ice in the shade. Keep the second jug cold for round 2.
- Pour the salt onto the small plate. Run a lime wedge around a cup's rim and dip it in the salt.
- Fill the cup with ice, pour in about 5 oz and add a lime wedge.
Pack for the lot
Lot notes
- Alcohol: 21 and over only. Check your lot's open-container rule in your stadium guide first, because some stadiums and states ban open containers in the lots. Line up a sober driver before the first pour.
- Two ice bags: the cooler ice has touched the jugs. Bring a separate bag for the cups.
- A day ahead, no more: fresh lime juice starts to taste flat after about a day.
How much do you need for 20 people?
Multiply by 1¼: 5 cups of tequila (about 1½ liter bottles), 2½ cups of lime juice (about 25 limes), 2½ cups of orange liqueur, about 1 cup of simple syrup and 2½ cups of water. That's about 14 cups, one 5-oz pour each with a little left over.
Can you make it without alcohol?
Yes. Mix a separate jug of 1 cup lime juice, 1 cup orange juice and ½ cup simple syrup, and top each cup with sparkling water at the lot. Keep it in its own labeled jug so nobody grabs the wrong one.
Gear for this cook
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