The passing of Labor Day, along with today’s 65-degree high, seem to be telling me that summer is over. But the long weekend also signals the start of my favorite season: college football. While I religiously attended football games in college, ESPN did not share my passion for Northwestern University football. Which meant my friends at Notre Dame and Michigan were able to indulge in beer and burgers around noon and I resorted to kegs and eggs at 8AM.

Starting with a beer at 8AM prevented me from enjoying my morning cup of joe. By 11AM I would begin to suffer from caffeine withdrawl in the form of a massive headache. To prevent this painful conflict of interest between my caeffine addiction and love for a boozy tailgate I have come up with the perfect solution: a drink called the Pick-Me-Up Coffee.

The coffee base provides a solid dose of caffeine, the esspresso liqour offers the perfect head start to your tailgate festivities, and the white chocolate tops off the beverage with a thin layer of sweetness. This delicious iced coffee is so tasty that it will go down faster than that pumpkin-spice latte you’ve been craving since last fall. Shake up this drink before the next football game and you’ll be ready for that 8AM beer.

Alex Milling writes about booze for Small Kitchen College. She recently graduated from Northwestern, moved into the city, and is trying to soak up every last drop of sun before Chicago turns cold.

**Recipe**

 

Pick-Me-Up Coffee
Serves 1

Ingredients
3/4 cup coffee
2 ounces Godiva White Chocolate Liquor
1 ounce Espresso Liquor

Fill shaker with ice. Pour coffee over ice. Add Godiva White Chocolate Liquor and Espresso Liquor. Lightly shake, pour in glass and enjoy!