Ryder Cup Cocktails: Make the Mulligan, Batch the Transfusion
The best Ryder Cup cocktails to make this year are the Mulligan, the Transfusion, the Roma Old Fashioned, a Dark ‘n’ Stormy, and an Azalea-style vodka sipper. If you’ve got vodka on hand, pour a Transfusion. Want something bourbon-forward for a cooler night? Go with the Mulligan or Roma Old Fashioned. Hosting a crowd? Batch the Transfusion or Azalea-style pitcher and let everyone pour their own.
TL;DR:
- Build a Transfusion with 2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce Concord grape juice, 1/4 ounce lime juice, and 1 to 2 ounces ginger ale.
- For groups, scale recipes six to eight times, chill juices in advance, and add ginger ale or ginger beer only when serving to preserve carbonation.
- The Mulligan mixes 2 ounces bourbon, 3 ounces iced tea, 1 ounce lemonade, and 1/2 ounce honey syrup; prepare the syrup ahead and cool it.
- The Azalea cocktail uses equal parts vodka, grenadine, and fresh lemon juice; shake with ice or pour over ice for simpler service.
- A Dark ‘n’ Stormy needs 2 ounces dark rum, 4 to 5 ounces ginger beer, and lime; whiskey can replace the rum.
Table of Contents
- 1. Mulligan: the official Ryder Cup bourbon cocktail
- 2. Transfusion: golf’s classic vodka highball
- 3. Roma Old Fashioned and other bourbon sips for tournament nights
- 4. Dark ‘n’ Stormy and Azalea-style sippers for easy serving
- 5. How to batch, serve, and style your cocktail spread
- 6. Why vodka works for golf cocktails
- Perspective: cocktails and the ritual of watching the Ryder Cup
- Broken Tee: a golf-crafted vodka for your Ryder Cup cocktails
- FAQ
- Sources
1. Mulligan: the official Ryder Cup bourbon cocktail
The Mulligan is a bourbon cocktail built for sipping while the leaderboard shifts. It mixes bourbon with iced tea, lemonade, and a honey syrup for a sweet, easy-drinking glass that works just as well on a patio as it does in front of the TV.
- 2 oz bourbon
- 3 oz brewed iced tea
- 1 oz fresh lemonade
- 1/2 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, cooled)
Build everything in a Collins glass over fresh ice and stir gently until the honey syrup blends in. Garnish with a lemon wheel or a sprig of mint for a fresh finish. For a crowd, multiply the recipe by six to eight, mix everything except the ice in a pitcher ahead of time, and pour over ice as guests arrive.
Pro Tip: Make your honey syrup the night before so it has time to cool completely, otherwise it’ll melt your ice faster than you’d like.
2. Transfusion: golf’s classic vodka highball
The Transfusion is the cocktail most closely tied to golf culture, and for good reason. It’s light, fruity, and built to be refilled more than once during a long round or a long broadcast. Food & Wine’s recipe calls for vodka, Concord grape juice, fresh lime, and ginger ale, a combination that dates back to the sport’s mid-century clubhouse days.
- 2 oz vodka
- 1 oz Concord grape juice
- 1/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 to 2 oz ginger ale
Build over ice in a highball glass, pour the vodka, grape juice, and lime juice first, then top with ginger ale and give it one gentle stir so you don’t lose the fizz. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Mixologists quoted by Food & Wine recommend reaching for a craft ginger ale like Fever-Tree instead of a mass-market brand, since it brings more ginger bite and less straight sugar to the glass. Starting with 1 ounce of grape juice and adjusting from there keeps the drink crushable instead of syrupy.
Pro Tip: Swap the vodka for tequila and you’ve got a Confusion, a popular twist on the same formula.
A Transfusion built with craft ginger ale keeps the ginger flavor front and center instead of drowning it in sweetness, according to Fever-Tree’s own product notes. For a full breakdown of ratios and variations, our Transfusion recipe guide walks through it step by step.
3. Roma Old Fashioned and other bourbon sips for tournament nights
The Roma Old Fashioned earned its spot as a signature tournament drink through official Ryder Cup coverage, which published the recipe as part of its event tie-in content. It’s a bourbon Old Fashioned with a twist that gives it a little more depth than the standard build.
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1/4 oz simple syrup
- 2 dashes aromatic bitters
- Orange peel for garnish
Stir the bourbon, simple syrup, and bitters over ice until well chilled, then strain into a rocks glass over a single large cube. Express the orange peel over the top and drop it in.
For a small crowd, batch the bourbon, syrup, and bitters in a jar ahead of time, then pour over fresh ice glass by glass so you’re not watering everything down in one giant punch bowl. Set out a bowl of orange peels so guests can garnish their own and keep the bar moving.
Pro Tip: A single large ice cube melts slower than a handful of small ones, which keeps your Old Fashioned from going watery before the back nine.
4. Dark ‘n’ Stormy and Azalea-style sippers for easy serving
Not every guest wants bourbon or vodka, so it helps to have a rum option and a dead-simple third choice ready to go.
- Dark ‘n’ Stormy: 2 oz dark rum, 4 to 5 oz ginger beer, a squeeze of lime. Pour the rum over ice in a highball glass, top with ginger beer, and float a lime wheel on top. It’s spectator-friendly because it’s quick to build and travels well in a plastic cup if you’re watching outdoors.
- Azalea-style vodka cocktail: this tournament staple, popularized at the Masters, uses just three ingredients: 2 oz vodka, 2 oz grenadine, and 2 oz fresh lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass, or build it straight over ice for a lower-effort pour.
Both scale easily into a pitcher: multiply the ratios by six or eight, mix the non-carbonated ingredients ahead of time, and pour over ice at serving. Swap the rum for whiskey in the Dark ‘n’ Stormy if that better matches your bar, and keep the garnish simple with lime wheels or lemon twists.
5. How to batch, serve, and style your cocktail spread
Hosting for a Ryder Cup watch party works best when you prep before the first tee shot airs.
- Scale your favorite recipe by six to eight for a group of that size, mixing everything but the carbonated or diluting ingredient (ginger ale, ginger beer, soda) in a pitcher ahead of time.
- Keep that fizzy mixer separate and add it at the moment of serving so each glass keeps its sparkle instead of going flat in a shared pitcher.
- Use large ice cubes for glass service to slow dilution, and pre-chill your mixers and juices so you’re not relying on ice alone to cool the drink.
- Choose plastic cups for anyone moving between the yard and the living room, and save glassware for a seated setup where presentation matters more.
- Set up a small garnish station with lime wheels, orange peels, and mint so guests can finish their own glass, and label each pitcher with a simple drink card so nobody has to ask what’s in it.
Pro Tip: Pre-batch everything except the sparkling mixer the night before. It’s the single biggest time-saver for a multi-cocktail spread. For larger watch parties that need professional bar support, outfits like Liquid Courage’s event bar services handle the logistics so you can focus on the leaderboard.
6. Why vodka works for golf cocktails
Vodka’s job in a cocktail like the Transfusion or Azalea-style sipper is to carry the other flavors without fighting them, which is exactly why it shows up in so many golf-tournament drinks. A smoother vodka lets the grape juice, lime, and ginger ale in a Transfusion come through clean instead of getting muddled by harsh alcohol notes.
That’s the gap Broken Tee Vodka was built to fill. Our sevenfold distillation and carbon filtration process is aimed at producing a smoother pour, which matters most in simple, spirit-forward builds like a Transfusion or a light highball where there’s nowhere for rough edges to hide.
- Best paired with the Transfusion, Azalea-style cocktail, and other light vodka highballs.
- Works well in batched pitchers since a smoother base holds up through dilution.
- Every bottle includes a golf ball marker, a small nod to the game itself.
For more vodka-forward recipes built around the golf season, our roundup of golf-inspired cocktails is a good next stop.
Perspective: cocktails and the ritual of watching the Ryder Cup
There’s something about the 19th hole tradition that carries straight into watch-party season: the drink in your hand is half the fun of the broadcast. A cold Transfusion feels right on a warm Saturday afternoon, while a Mulligan earns its keep once the evening cools down and the bourbon starts to make sense. Pick the drink that matches the weather and the mood, not the other way around.
— Chip Mulligan
Broken Tee: a golf-crafted vodka for your Ryder Cup cocktails
We built our vodka for exactly this kind of weekend: a smooth, sevenfold-distilled pour that holds its own in a Transfusion, an Azalea-style sipper, or any light vodka highball you’re serving while the matches play out.
Grab a bottle from our Broken Tee Vodka product page and pair it with the Transfusion recipe above, or browse our golf-ready merch to round out your watch-party setup.
FAQ
What is in a Dirty Monkey?
A Dirty Monkey is a separate cocktail from the Ryder Cup lineup, typically a blended drink made with rum, vodka, banana, and cream. It’s not part of the classic golf-tournament cocktail roster covered here, which centers on drinks like the Transfusion and the Mulligan.
What is the famous golf cocktail?
The Transfusion is widely considered golf’s signature cocktail, built with vodka, Concord grape juice, lime, and ginger ale. Its light, refreshing profile and long history on the course made it a clubhouse staple.
What are the 7 classic cocktails?
There’s no single official list of seven classic golf cocktails, though tournament-associated drinks commonly mentioned include the Transfusion, the Mulligan, the Roma Old Fashioned, the Dark ‘n’ Stormy, and the Azalea. Definitions vary by publisher, and which drinks make the cut often depends on the tournament and the region.
What is the best alcoholic drink to drink on the golf course?
A light, easy-sipping highball like the Transfusion tends to work best on the course since it’s refreshing and simple to carry. For cooler rounds or evening viewing, a bourbon-based drink like the Mulligan or Roma Old Fashioned is a better fit.
Sources
- Transfusion cocktail recipe and history — Food & Wine
- Rydercup
- How to make the Azalea cocktail: The Masters’ signature 3-ingredient drink — AJC
