If you're looking for big-batch mixed drink recipes to serve at a large gathering, there are plenty of make-ahead options: punches, sangrias, pitcher drinks. But what if you want to take an individual cocktail recipe like the Martini or Manhattan and mix it for several dozen people? Without a team of bartenders? I recently found myself in that very situation. Here's what I did.
I was leading a cocktail workshop in which I needed to serve 36 people sample servings of two different cocktails: first a round of Gibsons (Martinis garnished with a cocktail onion) and later a round of Manhattans. I'd made both of these drinks at home countless times before, but never for more than a handful of people at one time. Both cocktails require a certain degree of careful measuring, and both are served straight up - that is, stirred with ice (for chilling and slight dilution), then strained into a cocktail glass. The crucial point here: both are best served freshly made, while still ice-cold.
I figured the best strategy would be to combine all the ingredients in large carafes before everyone arrived, saving myself a lot of measuring time once the event was underway. That way, all I'd need to do was the stirring and straining in batches of 3 or 4 as the guests arrived.
Quite honestly, I was a little apprehensive. Could a cocktail poured from a big batch of 36 taste as good as an individually crafted one? Yes! I was quite pleasantly surprised by just how well these mass-produced cocktails turned out. Here's what I did, step by step:
Before the Event
- Calculate: Consult your recipe and multiply the quantities by the number of drinks you wish to mix, rounding up a bit to leave yourself a little leeway. For my event I was making 2-ounce drinks for 36 people - the equivalent of 18 large cocktails (these were sample-sized drinks, although, in my opinion, they'd make a reasonable serving size for a party). I mixed my Martinis 3:1 and my Manhattans 2:1, which translated to about 48 ounces of gin and 16 ounces of dry vermouth for the Gibsons, and 44 ounces of rye, 22 ounces of sweet vermouth, and 44 dashes of Angostura bitters for the Manhattans.
- Mix and Set Aside: Pour all drink ingredients into a large carafe. (Before you get started, make sure the vessels are large enough, otherwise you'll need to divide the recipe into a couple of separate batches.) Mix the ingredients thoroughly, and set aside at room temperature.
- Get Serving Equipment Ready: Get your glassware and garnishes ready. Do you have enough ice? Make sure your cocktail beakers/shakers are ready to go.
When the Guests Have Arrived and Are Ready to Drink
- Stir (or Shake) with Ice: Fill your cocktail beaker about 3/4 full of ice. Pour in batched drink mixture. Stir or shake, according to the recipe.
- Serve: Strain into individual cocktail glasses (you should be able to make 3 or 4 drinks at a time - if you have another beaker and another person to help you, things will go quite quickly). Garnish your cocktails and serve.
- Repeat: Repeat until everyone has a drink!
Note: This big-batch method isn't recommended for cocktails containing eggs (they won't get uniformly mixed) or fizzy ingredients such as soda or sparkling wine (these should be poured at serving time or they'll lose their effervescence), but would adapt well to drinks with stable ingredients that mix easily. For example:
Gimlets: Pre-batch gin (or vodka) and Rose's lime juice. When ready to serve, pour into ice-filled glasses.
Americanos: Pre-batch the alcoholic ingredients. When ready to serve, pour into ice-filled glasses, then top up with club soda.
Have you ever batched cocktails for a crowd? Any big parties planned this summer?
Nora Maynard is a longtime home mixologist and an occasional instructor at NYC’s Astor Center. She is a contributor to The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries and is the recipient of the American Egg Board Fellowship in culinary writing at the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow. She previously covered food and drink in film at The Kitchn in her weekly column, The Celluloid Pantry.
Related: Summer Entertaining: How to Build a Basic Bar
(Images: Nora Maynard)
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Such a timely post, as I was just thinking about doing this for an upcoming party.
I wanted to serve Porch Swing's (from Blue Smoke) which has Gin, Pimm's mixed with homemade lemonade (1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 part simple syrup to 2 parts water).
Would it be best to prepare the alcoholic ingredients and fruit juice separate, and then mix and serve to guests? Or could I mix the juices with the alcohol, say an hour or two before party time? Thanks so much! Always informative blog posts.
mauramae,
I'd recommend batching everything together (gin, Pimm's, homemade lemonade) in a pitcher or carafe just before the party and then setting it in the fridge to chill. When you're ready to serve your guests, you can pour the mixture into ice-filled glasses. Will you be adding 7UP (or other fizzy soda) to your recipe? If so, leave a little room in the glasses and top each up with a splash. Garnish, and you're good to go.
Have a great party and let us know how things turn out!
I was co-hosting a going away party for a friend a couple weeks ago and she loves my Micheladas so I wanted to make those, but they are sort of time consuming to make one on one (all the muddling and whatnot). My original idea was to make them by the pitcher, but my boyfriend had the brilliant idea of just creating a seasoning mix to add to beers. So we filled a little bottle with all the fixings (bottled lime juice, soy sauce, Dimitri's, Worcestershire) and then I just had to squeeze a tablespoon or so of the mix into the bottom of the cup, and add ice, beer and a couple lime wedges for looks. Despite my hesitation about using bottled lime juice it turned out really good! Other people just started squeezing the mix into their beer cans.
If you were having a party for a bunch of women after seeing Sex and the City 2, it might make sense to mass mix Cosmos. But as for anything else, you really need to know your guests' tastes.))) Possible solutions: Hire a college student bartender . Rotate bartending duties with three or four friends. Let your friends mix their own drinks. I mean, can't they read a recipe?))))))))))