Hoctails at Stout Public House

“There are a lot of hockey fans in San Diego because there are a lot of people here from somewhere else,” Stout Public House bartender Daniel McCullough tells me. “Since they don’t have anywhere else to go, we became the bar for hockey.”

It wasn’t long after the ad hoc(key) fan club formed that McCullough was serving up his notorious “hocktails” — shots named after teams.

“Over the past couple of years we have had a number of wholly dedicated fans coming into the bar,” he explains. “So we began making them shots that resemble the teams they go for.”

Through trial and error, McCullough has been able to spin out shots that have become a popular way to celebrate a team scoring a goal.

“Right now we have shots for the Redwings, the Sharks, St. Louis Blues, and Canucks and Boston Bruins, but really we welcome customers to come in and request a shot for any team they want — and we’ll come up with a flavor they’ll like.”

Kitchen proof: I asked McCullough if it was too early for a rematch of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals — at least going shot for shot between the Bruins and Canucks concoctions. As it turned out, the contest over the “Danley Cup” turned out the way the original did back in June. While the Canucks shot held its own in presentation — its deep cobalt hue is a delight to the eyes — the Bruins shot had the edge on taste — its citrus base working well with the Jägermeister.

For each drink, mix equal parts of listed ingredients into a cocktail shaker full of ice:

Vancouver Canucks

Blueberry Stolichnaya, sweet-and-sour, Sprite, blue curaçao

Boston Bruin

Orange vodka, Red Bull, orange juice, peach schnapps, Jägermeister

For the Bruins shot, layer the Jägermeister over the other ingredients with the back of a spoon. Shake, pour, and serve both drinks garnished with an orange slice in a tumbler.