Wingin’ It for QB1: Skarekrow’s entry into the Buffalo Pepsi® challenge

Hey everyone! Don’t worry, this isn’t the themed, regular edition of Wingin’ It for the Miami Dolphins game. This is a special edition you can blame on your favorite QB1. You might have noticed (here or elsewhere) Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen engaging in some curious behavior. Namely, mixing hot sauce in his Pepsi®. The virus video is the PepsiCo’s latest marketing campaign as part of Allen’s ongoing habit of national endorsement deals.

There’s two things I hope I’m known for at this point in my life. Not shying away from odd food combinations, and taking a premise way, way, waaaaaaaaaay too far. So here you go — Skarekrow’s entry into the Buffalo Pepsi® Challenge.

I’m going to call this cocktail “The Bubak.” Why? The level of specificity needed to create this can essentially only happen at my house, so a Skarekrow-themed name sounds right. I’ll lean toward the evil persona as there’s a good chance it will eat your soul. The Allen-Pepsi® collaboration made a claim that Allen’s behavior may be a result of him loving Buffalo too much. With that in mind, I decided to make the most Buffalo cocktail possible to run with the premise... all the way off a cliff. You’re welcome.

The Bubak

Serves: 1
Active Time: 3 min
Total Time: 3 min

Ingredients

6 oz Pepsi®
1 oz Frank’s RedHot®
1.5 oz Żubrówka (that’s bison grass vodka)
A splash of homemade nalewka (see related recipe)
Prepared horseradish
One or more saucy nugs (aka “something boneless and chicken” capable of surviving the rim of a glass)

You’ll need: Ice, an open mind, access to my kitchen and Buffalo Bills memorabilia collection

1. Fill your well-used Labatt Blue® (or any other type of) pint glass with ice.
2. Pour in Pepsi®, hot sauce, and vodka.
3. Stir with a halftime wedding bubble wand.
4. Pour a splash of nalewka into a custom Polish falcon cordial glass; then gently pour the nalewka from the falcon glass into the pint glass to float it.
5. Garnish one half of the rim with prepared horseradish; garnish the other side with one or more saucy nugs — na zdrowie!

Wingin’ It Tips and Prep Gallery Explanation and Apology

There’s no prep gallery because this was all a joke thing so I could enter the contest and sate my own personal desire to be incredibly creative. And while it looks like I should offer an apology for this monstrosity, that part of the heading is a lie. I apologize for nothing. The end result was reminiscent of a slightly sweet Bloody Mary (and if you want a Bloody Skarey, here you go). But I do feel like some of the items need an explanation. Especially in case anyone thinks they can “out-Buffalo” this thing, you’ll know what you’re up against.

Labatt Blue® pint glass — Not only is this about as Buffalo as you can get for drinkware, this was the glass sent to me by Labatt® for the collaboration we did for the first season of Wingin’ It. This glass has seen some ****. You can see Ol’ Pinty looking younger here filled to the brim with my Labatt® version of a Cherry Limeagde.

• I don’t usually toss out brand names, but it’s a Pepsi® challenge. I figured if I’m name dropping one, I can name drop the most Buffalo hot sauce to use for wings.
• Żubrówka — Aka “Bison grass vodka” is what I think Buffalo should embrace for its liquor of choice. It has a bison on the bottle — which we here in the United States incorrectly refer to as a buffalo. There are no true buffalo in the US... only true Buffalonians. It’s flavored to taste like a grass that bison love to eat, which grows in Poland. Each bottle has a blade of said grass in it. Buffalo’s Polish roots are well known. This is literally “Liquid Polish Buffalo.”
• Bubble wand — Yea, I was there for the halftime wedding in 2019. They handed out wedding favors in the form of little vials of bubbles (bottom of the picture). The bubble solution has long since evaporated, but the wand and memories remain. The wedding was officiated by retired Bills legend, defensive tackle Kyle Williams.
• Nalewka — Another Polish booze. Technically a cordial due to sugar content, but often hitting ridiculous ABV. I taught you how to make a wing sauce inspired one once. The type I used in this recipe I call “Shout Fuel.” It’s a Bills-themed one made with strawberries, blueberries, and a bit of vanilla bean.
• Polish Falcon cordial glass — A gift from one of my sisters to drink nalewka from in style. Prominent red and frosted glass pays homage to the flag of Poland and I think the crowned falcon speaks for itself.
• Garnish — Mostly speaks for itself. The horseradish was actually pretty easy to pack onto the rim and stayed put like you’d want. I went with a saucy nug rather than a traditional wing so I could slice it like a lemon wedge to affix to the glass (also we had some leftovers from the night before). If anything loses me points, it’s the use of the saucy nug, but I think I mitigated this a bit by not calling them boneless... Nope. Not gonna say it.