The anticipation is at fever pitch as Euro 2020 kicks off today (Friday) with England meeting Croatia on Sunday, the very team that sent them out of the World Cup after an extra time goal.
For the first time in 25 years, three out of the four home nations are present at the European Championships, and by all accounts, it’s going to be a tumultuous affair.
Of course, if government guidelines allow, there will be lots of garden parties as we celebrate the matches in style. UEFA has announced that there will be a between 25 and 35 per cent stadium capacity for groups, meaning there will be a large number of UK fans either in the pubs or at home.
To mark an eventful year, let’s add something unique to our usual football parties. After all, last year we weren’t even sure if the Euros would get the green light.
So get the celebrations rolling with themed alcoholic slush drinks using slush syrup flavours to support your team. Fun, tasty, and refreshing for the summer – here, we look at frozen cocktail recipes for each of the three home nations in the competition, as well as a few nibbles for your guests!
England (meet Croatia, Sunday, 2pm)
To celebrate the red and white colours of the England kit, we’re looking at a flavourful berry vodka slush. This serves four:
· Lots of ice, smashed into smaller pieces so they’re easier to blend
· 240ml berry vodka
· 960ml SnowShock Lemonade Concentrate slush syrup
· 600g frozen strawberries
Add to a blender and blend. To keep the colours separate, half the ingredients and add one half with lemonade slush syrup and the other with the strawberries in a cocktail glass. Or, you can add strawberry slush syrup from SnowShock as a replacement for a really tasty flavour. Make sure all ingredients are frozen for a really icy slush experience.
Depending on where you are in the country you could call upon a whole host of tasty favourites to snack on during the 90 minutes. It’s not a party without sausage rolls!
Scotland (meet Czech Republic on Monday at 2pm)
To celebrate Scotland’s colours, we have a blue and white frozen slush. How does a frozen bubblegum margarita sound? This recipe serves four:
· 120ml silver tequila
· 60ml blue curaçao
· 5 tablespoons of lime juice (roughly four or five limes)
· SnowShock Bubblegum Concentrate slush syrup (pour to taste)
· Lots of ice, smashed
· Sea salt
· Lime, for garnish
Run a lime slice around the rim of a margarita (or cocktail) glass and dip into salt to coat.
Add all the ingredients together in a blender and blend. Garnish with a lime. Again, if you want to keep the colours separate, you can half the ingredients and make one portion of the drink blue with the bubblegum slush syrup and the other white with lemonade. If you really want to be authentic, you could add a shot of Irn-Brew slush syrup.
Plate this up with some haggis pakoras – if your guests aren’t watching the game, you can find them at the food and drink table.
Wales (meet Switzerland tomorrow at 2pm)
For a red and yellow kit, how about a cherry and mango daiquiri? This serves four:
· Lots of ice, smashed
· 240ml rum
· Snowshock Sour Cherry Concentrate slush syrup
· Snowshock Mango Concentrate slush syrup
· 120ml lime juice
· Cherries, to garnish
Add all of these ingredients (apart from the cherries) to a blender and blend. To keep colours separate, half the ingredients and add one half with sour cherry slush syrup and the other with the mango and layer in a daiquiri glass.
And for your half-time snack, why not spice it up a bit and make the Welsh delicacy of rarebit?
