The Wild Thing cocktail, inspired by Ricky Vaughn’s fiery rise in Major League, blends bold, nostalgic flavors like Fireball, Screwball, and habanero bitters into a spicy-sweet drink that tastes like Cracker Jacks and hits as hard as his fastball. (Recipe Below)
Wild Thing , the nickname and walk out song for Ricky Vaughn one of the pitchers of a team that looks pretty bleak with the fan-stands looking bleaker still. Sometime into the season, the manager has Ricky outfitted with glasses which improves his pitching accuracy significantly. This quickly makes him the hottest pitcher to enter Cleveland, Ohio. Hot is what we were going for in the Wild Thing cocktail and a couple of obvious spirit choices just like the humor in this movie. Equal parts Fireball Whiskey, Screwball Whiskey and Nixta Corn Liqueur start off this cocktail. Can you see where we’re going with this? We finish it off with a little bit of Creme de Cacao, Pineapple Juice for a little bit of sweet acidity, and to bring the heat, Habanero Bitters. The result is a spicy, sweet cocktail that tastes like a box of cracker jacks. Serve it in a rocks glass garnished with a white sphere to look like a baseball. So you can take a drink and sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”, then take another drink and slide into “Wild Thing”.
Wild Thing
1 oz (30mL) Fireball Whiskey
1 oz (30mL) Screwball Whiskey
1 oz (30mL) Nixta Corn Liqueur
.5 oz (15mL) Crème De Cacao
.5 oz (15mL) Pineapple Juice
2 Dropper Saline
1-2 Dashes Habanero Bitters
White Sphere
In a mixing glass, combine 1 oz Fireball Whiskey, 1 oz Screwball Whiskey, 1 oz Corn Liqueur, .5 oz Creme de Cacao, .5 oz Pineapple Juice, and 1-2 dashes of Habanero Bitters. Add ice, stir for 2 minutes. Strain into a chilled rocks glass with a white sphere.
White Sphere
Using a low-fat dairy or non-dairy milk, fill large cocktail sphere molds. Place in freezer for 12-24 hours until frozen solid. unmold and store in freezer until ready to use.
Cocktails and Videos created by Boozy Movies
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Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
Country: Canada
ABV: 66 proof/33%
Brand: Sazerac Company
Spirits Type: Flavored Whisky
Taste: Sweet, Full-bodied spices and deep cinnamon, whisky warmth
Price Category: $
A blended Canadian whisky with sweeteners and cinnamon flavoring added to produce a syrupy sweet and bright cinnamon flavor.
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Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey
Country: United States
ABV: 70 proof/35%
Brand: Skrewball
Spirits Type: American Whiskey
Taste: Peanut, Honey and Vanilla
Price Category: $$
A flavored American Whiskey made by redistilling whiskey (specific mash bill not available) with peanut and sugar added. The result is an amber colored whiskey that is syrupy sweet and tastes strongly of peanuts similar to mixing peanut butter with honey.
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Nixta Corn Liqueur
Country: Mexico
ABV: 60 proof/30%
Brand: Casa Lumbre Spirits
Spirits Type: Liqueurs/Cordials/Schnapps
Taste: Sweet, Nut, Cornbread, Honey
Price Category: $
Made with Cacahuazintle maize grown in a volcanic valley. It tastes and smells like sweet cornbread and has a silky texture without too much sweetness. A unique, buttery liqueur with a slight savoriness makes it a delicious addition to a cocktail.
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White Creme De Cacao
Country: United States
ABV: 54 proof/27%
Brand: DeKuyper
Spirits Type: Liqueurs/Cordials/Schnapps
Taste: Candy sweet chocolate
Price Category: $
A sweet liqueur made by redistilling alcohol with pure cacao. This liqueur tastes lightly of chocolate and slight vanilla notes.
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Pineapple Juice
4-6% Acidity
Similar to Lemon Juice in acidity, but significantly more natural sugars which leaves a naturally balanced juice if freshly pressed. It is highly recommended to test the sweetness of the juice before adding additional sweeteners.
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Salt/Saline
Salt/Saline is a great flavor booster. It can balance sweetness and bitterness, smoothing out a cocktail. It can also enhance citrus flavor and acidity without the need for more acid.
A pinch of salt can be added to the cocktail, but for consistency, saline is easy to make and allows more control.
To Make It:
2 oz (60mL) Distilled or Purified Water
1 Tbsp (15g) Fine Sea Salt
Combine in a jar and shake vigorously. Once salt is dissolved, pour into a dropper bottle.
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Habanero Bitters
14.2 proof/7.1% ABV
Fee Brothers
Lots of spice and a little bit of the garden in these bitters. A dash or two will do you to help distribute flavor throughout your mouth as well as a kick to your cocktail.
Wild Thing and the Art of Baseball Chaos: Boozy Comebacks, Jobu Magic, and the Glory of Major League
Major League is pure underdog chaos wrapped in pine tar, cheap beer, and locker-room cigarette smoke, with a misfit Cleveland baseball team stumbling toward greatness while its owner quietly roots for disaster hard enough to relocate the franchise to Miami. Into that beautifully doomed clubhouse walks an unforgettable collection of washed-up veterans, reckless rookies, and baseball degenerates, led by Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn — a fastball-throwing ex-con whose control problems are only slightly less dangerous than his haircut. The cocktails inspired by the film swing just as wildly, beginning with “Wild Thing,” a reckless collision of Fireball, Screwball whiskey, Nixta corn liqueur, pineapple, cacao, and habanero bitters that drinks like Cracker Jack soaked in gasoline and somehow still rounds the bases smoothly. Its counterpart, “Jobu,” channels the team’s rum-soaked superstition with spiced rum, banana liqueur, pineapple, mezcal, and cinnamon smoke, creating a cocktail that feels like a Cuban cigar came to life in the middle of a ninth-inning rally while Pedro Cerrano begs the baseball gods to help him hit a curveball. Like the movie itself, these drinks understand that Major League works not because the team is polished or professional, but because there’s something timelessly beautiful about watching a collection of lovable disasters accidentally become legends together.
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If you like this movie, you’ll love:
