Questions and Cocktails

Courtesy Brian Paiement

The story below is a preview from our January/February 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 


Learn fun facts while pairing your favorite sports game with a refreshing beverage from Bryan Paiement’s new book “Sports Bar.”



If you can’t be at the actual game, the next best thing is watching it from the comfort of your own home, complete with your favorite beverages. Throw on your jerseys, invite some friends over and you’ve got yourself a party! Sports fanatic and professional bartender Bryan Paiement brings the best of both worlds together in his new release, “Sports Bar.”

"Sports Bar" is available wherever books are sold.
"Sports Bar" is available wherever books are sold. Courtesy Bryan Paiement

Published by Indiana University Press and containing a foreword from local sportswriter and educator Roland Lazenby, “Sports Bar” features 40 original cocktail recipes specifically crafted with the world’s most famous sporting events in mind. You and your friends can drink “Augusta on My Mind” and “The Brickyard Toast” while also learning unbelievably amazing sports facts. (Why are Roman numerals used to number Super Bowls? Who was the first woman jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby?) 

Paiement thought up the concept for “Sports Bar” while working as – you guessed it – a bartender at a sports bar in Colorado. 

“We always had games on – football, basketball, baseball – everything, really,” Paiement says. “Sure, it would be nice to be at the sporting events, but watching the games with friends and family from the comfort of your home can be just as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable. My goal with ‘Sports Bar’ was to provide entertaining sports trivia and inspired cocktails made specifically for the greatest sporting events every year.”

Thanks to growing up in a Roanoke hockey family, Paiement’s favorite team is the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. He pays homage to “the grueling nature of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the most coveted trophy in sports, The Stanley Cup” with his cocktail “Lord Stanley Sour.”

Bryan Paiement
Bryan Paiement. Courtesy Bryan Paiement

Paiement’s favorite drink from the book is “Stroke of Nations,” named for the Ryder Cup, the biennial golf tournament that pits the United States against Europe. The cocktail includes bourbon, fresh anjou pear, chamomile tea, lemon juice and simple syrup.

“It’s a smooth, refreshing addition to the tournament every golf fan is watching!”

“Sports Bar: Cocktails and Sports Trivia” releases February 1 and is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold. 

Editor’s Note: “Sports Bar: Cocktails and Sports Trivia” is available locally at On the Rise Bakery in Grandin (1302A Grandin Rd SW) and Ivy’s at Piccadilly Square (3117 Franklin Rd SW, Suite 1A). 


The story above is a preview from our January/February 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!

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