THE BOCCE BALL

THE BOCCE BALL

1 ½ ounce vodka
½ ounce amaretto
Orange juice
Splash of soda water
Orange slice for garnish

The Annual Benko Bocce Invitational is a great party hosted by my sister-in-law’s family. It attracts serious bocce players and people like me, who just want to spend a Saturday partying instead of doing domestic duties. The yearly tournament is in its 34^th year, but for the first time it included the BOCCE BALL cocktail. Since I made enough cocktails for about 50 people, it was also the largest Cocktail Connie tasting in this blog’s long, illustrious history.

The BOCCE BALL contains orange juice, so I consider it a morning cocktail. Good thing the Bocce Tournament started at 11 am and the drinking started at 10. The ingredients for a single BOCCE BALL cocktail are listed above. Simply put them all into a tall glass half-filled with ice and stir. To make the 3 gallon jug version, use one 1 liter bottle of amaretto, one and a half of two 1.75 liter bottles of vodka, about half of a large 128 ounces jug of orange juice and one 1 liter bottle of club soda. Stir well and add ice. Garnish with orange slices.

Mere seconds after I finished putting the jug together, a line for the BOCCE BALL cocktail was forming. Everyone who tried it liked it, and this was early in the day, before everyone’s taste buds had become comfortably numb. The BOCCE BALL was like a screwdriver on steroids, much like the Bocce Tournament is a game of bocce on steroids. The usual orange juice and vodka combo gets the added benefit of coffee flavor from the amaretto, and the soda water ensures that the cocktail is not too strong or acidy. These ingredients are also easy to remember when you have a taste for something different and interesting.

Me and my teammate Carolyn, seen in the picture, had a blast in our Cocktail Connie t-shirts, which declared that it was day 218. We told all of our opponents about the blog, and some of them had great cocktail suggestions. But the tasty BOCCE BALL cocktail spoke for itself. Though team Cocktail Connie had a disappointing 2-6 losing record, at least it was a hit. And, yes Carolyn, we’ll get them next year!

Drink Up^
Cocktail Connie