8 Tips for Serving Drinks at Your Next Party

Navigating drink service at your party can be a headache all its own. What drinks should I server? How many drinks do I need? Where do the drinks go? How do I ensure everyone has a drink?

Don't worry - we have you covered. Here are 8 quick easy tips on how to serve drinks at your next party.

1. Self-service drinks. Whether you make a few pitchers in advance, have store bought bottles, or fancy beverage dispensers, I strongly recommend having your guest serve themselves. As an alternative you can enlist a few key guests and trade off bar tending throughout the party. Either way, you get to enjoy the party too!

2. Place drinks away from food. This will improve traffic flow and avoid bottle necks at your party. Additionally, placing drinks away from the food serves as a second focal point.

3. Co-locate and prep.

• For smaller parties use a bar, cart, or tray. This will make it easier to restock and self-serve.

• For larger parties, I like to put the alcohol away from the non-alcohol drinks (e.g., on separate sides of the room or table). This helps prevent little ones or teetotalers from taking a big sip of the hard stuff.

• Make your garnishes in advance, put them in nice containers, and place them out with the drinks. You don't want to be cutting orange curls when you should be mingling with your guests. Not to mention that it just looks good.

• Get creative with the containers you use. For bottled drinks you can use almost anything - wheelbarrows, buckets, planters, and of course coolers. [need good photos] [inset photo]

4. Label. I always label the drinks and have the recipe card handy. It helps those with sensitivities or allergies and helps your guest bartenders, too. ;) Dina and I really like the simplicity of Wine Glass Writers to label the pitchers and glasses. It is quick, takes up little room in your kitchen, and is reusable from party to party and included in the Cocktail Bash.

5. Keep it simple. When choosing the recipe keep the technical difficulty low and the garnishes simple. Again, this will allow you more time for your guest and make it easier if you are sharing bar tending duties.

• See my earlier post " My-Top-3-Drink-Recipe-Websites" for recipe ideas.

• Keep in mind these serving sizes when choosing how much to purchase

• 1 bottle wine = 25.4 ounces = 5 servings

• 1/5 liquor = 13-two ounces pours = 16-1 ounces shots (for cocktails)

• 1 liter soda = 5-six ounces servings

• Keep these fruit equivalency in mind for the mixers. I didn't have this for our Cocktail Bash test and ended up with WAYYYY too much lemon juice.

• 1 medium lemon = 3 tablespoons juice

• 1 medium lime = 1/2-2 tablespoons juice

• 1 medium orange = 1/3 cup juice

6. Don't forget the Ice. Whether you use it in the drinks or just use it to keep store bought bottles cold, you can't have a party without ice.

• Don't have enough room in your fridge for all that ice? Store it in your dishwasher or clothes washer (in bags of course) prior to party setup.

• 1 bag ice = 6 people

• Buy extra ice and then buy some more

• Keep a scoop near the ice for serving so as not to introduce bacteria

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Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker -- Ogden Nash, reflection on ice-breaking

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7. Don't stress over the glassware or lack of it.

• Stick to one type of glassware to uncomplicated prep (all martini glasses, all highball glasses)

• There are nice high end disposable glasses you can use

• Head to a discount store to stock up

• The Purcell sisters suggest that if you have a glass shortage - ask your guests it is "bring your own glass" (BYOG). This is also a good conversation starter.

8) How to make drinks by the pitcher? One of our favorite options is to "Super-size," the drinks by converting the drink recipe from a single serving to a pitcher size (20 servings). We found this tip in "Cocktail Parties, Straight Up!" by Lauren Purcell and Anne Purcell Grissinger while researching The Toast of the Town - Cocktail Bash. When super-sizing we recommend that you take your largest measuring cup and pour the liquids directly into the serving pitcher.

If the recipe call for:

• 1/4 ounce = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons

• 1/2 ounce = 1 1/4 cups

• 3/4 ounce = 1 3/4 + 2 tablespoons

• 1 ounce = 2 1/2 cups

• 1 1/2 ounces = 3 3/4 cups

• 2 ounces = 5 cups

• 1 teaspoon = 1/4 cup = 3 scant tablespoons

• dash = 2 1/2 teaspoons

If your recipe calls for carbonated ingredients, leave those out of the pitcher and have your guests add them directly to their glass.

We hope these tips help with your next party. If you have a great party tip, please let us know. Cheers!

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