Invite your friends around and cheer on our Olympic athletes with delicious green and gold cocktails made in a jiffy. Show your loyalty (and fantastic trivia knowledge) when you host a Summer Games viewing session this winter!
As our athletes leap over hurdles, dive off platforms and nail slam-dunks at the 2012 London Olympics, they’ll all be wearing the traditional green and gold. Whether in tracksuits off-court, crop tops and bike pants on the field, or bikinis on the beach, the customary colour palette will help us to spot our favourites among the competitors. So why has the colour combo become such a mainstay in our nation’s history? Read on to find out.
The history of the green and gold
While green and gold has been unofficially embraced as Australia’s sporting colours since the late 1800s, it wasn’t until 14 April, 1984 that they were formally recognised. These two colours were finally established as our official national colours by the Governor-General of the time. He announced that “green and gold (Pantone Matching System numbers 116C and 348C as used for printing on paper) shall be the national colours of Australia for use on all occasions on which such colours are customarily used.” This put an end to the question of whether blue should also be incorporated into our national colour scheme.
This combination has since become the traditional colours worn by Aussies when representing their country , particularly in the sporting arena. It’s widely believed that the choice of green and gold stemmed from Australia’s national floral emblem in bloom, the golden wattle.
So when you’re gathered around the TV and cheering on your Aussie athletes this Summer Games season, why not invite some friends around and serve up a few delicious cocktails in green and gold? Not only do these drinks taste fantastic, but they’ll look great too! Cheers!
Green and gold splice
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients:
- 30 ml Midori or melon-flavoured liqueur
- 30 ml coconut rum
- Pineapple or apple juice
- Cream
- Slice of pineapple, apple or a cherry
Directions:
- Fill a tall glass with ice, then add one shot each of Midori/melon liqueur and coconut rum.
- Pour in the juice to almost reach the top of the glass (approximately three shot glasses), then finish the cocktail off with a shot or so of cream. The best way to do this is to pour it into a spoon held above the cocktail, which will allow it to create an even top layer.
- Garnish your green and gold creation with a slice of apple or pineapple, or a cherry.
Yellow bird
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients:
- 30 ml vodka or light rum
- 30 ml banana-flavoured liqueur (e.g. Creme De Bananes)
- Lemonade
Directions:
- Fill a tall glass with ice, then add one shot each of the vodka/light rum and liqueur.
- Fill the glass to the rim with approximately two shots of lemonade.
- Stir and serve.
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