Cocktail party help!

[pdswife]

Well... I've finally done it!!! Yipppeeeee!! I've convinced Paul that it's time the Shaffer's threw a hum dinger of a cocktail party.

The date is planned for April 1st.
So far there's about 35 people on the guest list but we keep adding more.
I'm figuring that by the time we send the invites out there will be around 50 people....

I'm pretty sure I can handle the food. I'll make bunches of dips and chips
and relish and fruit trays and a few desserts, all finger foods. Cooking for such a large crowd will be a challange but, I know I can do it. Paul and I have agreed that we don't want to ask our friends to bring anything.

The problem we're having is what kind of drinks to serve. We'll have white and red wine and beer but most of our friends really like mixed drinks. We want some fruity sweet girly drinks and a few harder "man" like drinks.

What would you do?
What are some of your favorite drinks? We need them to be quick and easy as Paul will be the only bar tender ( at least until people start getting tipsy and helping themselves)

Thanks in advance!

smiles, Trish and Paul

 

[ronjohn55]

Margaritas and martinis are always winners - and you can make them by the pitcher, and then just pour them out as needed - the rest can stay chilled in the fridge!

And with marinis, you can do:

Original Gin
Vodka
Appletinis
Tangertinis
Chocolate Martinis

Even Mai Tais will work well in the fridge..

If I think of more, I'll post them, too.

John

 

[pdswife]

Margaritas are a great idea!
And the chocolate martinis sound interesting. Can you tell me how to make them? THANK YOU!!

 

[TexasTamale]

Frozen Daiquiris are always a hit....
(I buy all the different combo juices they have in the freezer section, and go from there)

Pitcher of Spicy Bloody Marys (everybody wants one.....fat stuffed olives, and a piece of Okra on a salted glass)

Mudslide Mix (avail at Liquor stores)


I can only have One.....but I love White Rum with Sprite and a good pinch of Lime (Pitcher....LOL!)

 

[Erik]

The women like the Cosmopolitans...
Make sure you have fantastic wines...Washington has some of the best wines

 

[jkath]

Buy this Book!!!!

Ted has some perfect ideas for your party!
I got it at the library for my husband, actually,
but when I read Ted's cocktail party stuff, I knew
I had to buy my own copy. I got a great deal on
ebay.




And, you can't forget this one -( I copy/pasted it from one of my old postings)


I made something new last night:
(it's probably a common drink, but since I had a pitcher of lemonade....and the liquor cabinet was full....)
I had a glass of good tart Lemonade with a shot of Smirnoff Vanilla Twist Vodka, over ice.

Boy was it tasty! Reminded me of Lemon Meringue Pie.

 

[Michelemarie]

Okay, just marked April 1st in my calendar, I'll be there - hehe. I think margaritas is a good guy/girl drink, martini's too. You may want to consider sangria. I recently made the "bucket" drinks - I found one that was a cosmopolitan and then one that was orange cranberry breeze - both with lots of vodka. They were definately hits. My sister told me that when Rachel Ray was on Oprah she went through a "how to host a cocktail party" and one of her tips was beer, wine and just one other drink - hers was martinis - pomegranite ones to be exact. I have also had parties were I just set up "bar" - a bottle of the majors, whisky (for me of course), vodka, gin, rum, and scotch. That can get expensive though. Can't wait to hear what you do - one thing for sure, whatever you do, I am sure it will be fun.

 

[jkath]

oh, and another tip:
if you don't have a friend who works at a bev-mo or a liquor store....make one. It'll save you a lot!

 

[Michelemarie]

good advice, i need to work on that myself!

 

[pdswife]

Such great ideas!

I'm on my way to ebay to check out the book! Thank you all!!

 

[pdswife]

Buy this Book!!!!

Ted has some perfect ideas for your party!
I got it at the library for my husband, actually,
but when I read Ted's cocktail party stuff, I knew
I had to buy my own copy. I got a great deal on
ebay.




And, you can't forget this one -( I copy/pasted it from one of my old postings)


I made something new last night:
(it's probably a common drink, but since I had a pitcher of lemonade....and the liquor cabinet was full....)
I had a glass of good tart Lemonade with a shot of Smirnoff Vanilla Twist Vodka, over ice.

Boy was it tasty! Reminded me of Lemon Meringue Pie.

My library has 47 copies of it in stock.
I'll go pick it up in the next few days! Thanks for the idea.

 

[jkath]

FORTY-SEVEN????????? I think your city needs a visit from the fab 5 themselves!

 

[Zereh]

If you buy orange-, pineapple- and cranberry-juice, coke, 7-up and some tonic ~ you have 80% of the drinks covered by just adding rum, vodka, gin, whiskey and/or bourben.

Cut lots of limes and lemons, they add that special touch to even the most basic of drink. Grenadine and Roses' Lime are must haves as well. (mmmm tequila sunrises!)

A good BloodyMary mix is always handy as well. I have a super recipe for a mix that is boxed up in storage , but I'll dig around and see if I can find a similar one.

If you need a bartender, lemme know.


Z

 

[Zereh]

PS ~ for girly drinks, liqueurs and cordials are usually a hit: Gran Marnier, Bailey's, Kahlua, Frengelico, Amaretto, Midori, etc. Problem is, most are in fussy type drinks. You know, where it's a dash of this and a splash of that with cream, yadda yadda.

But maybe if you'd just choose a couple of them you could come up with some stuff to have pre-mixed to make it easier.

Z

 

[ronjohn55]

Margaritas are a great idea!
And the chocolate martinis sound interesting. Can you tell me how to make them? THANK YOU!!

Even though I'm more of a stirred, not shaken (Sorry, Commander Bond) person, here's the recipe we have for them....

Ice
2 fluid ounces chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 fluid ounces vodka
1/2 ounce grated chocolate

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the chocolate liqueur and vodka to the shaker. Shake briskly to mix and chill. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with the chocolate.

Although I have to admit - I hardly ever truly measure. I use more of a 1 part to one part mix, so I just eyeball it.

John

 

[urmaniac13]

How about Sangria?? It is very colourful, festive and tasty... you can make a few different version, too...

http://www.spain-recipes.com/sangriarecipe.html

 

[Robo410]

There was a time when a proper household had a fully stocked bar and could put together most anything. But times have changed...many "fancy drinks" contain so many ingredients and have so many variants, it is nearly impossible to keep current or stocked for the onslaught. Also, with today's very tough drunk driving laws, and liability litigation, party givers have a responsibility to plan the event.

Your beverages are very much a part of your food offerings. You dictate what you are serving. Some fine wines, and some make it your way favorites such as the Bloody Mary. A pitcher of well fruited sangria would also be in order.

I throw a New Year's party every year and have wine, beer, and the Bloody Mary. What I have seen over the years is fascinating...many will have a glass of wine, then a reasonable Bloody Mary, followed by many Virgin Marys. It's a drink you can unspike and no one knows. You can spice it up or tone it down as you like. There are several other drinks that can be done much the same way.

Have a great party...and make extra cause we're all flying in!

 

[Ishbel]

Pimm's

Part of the British landscape....

When I'm catering for a lot of people and want a trouble-free drink, I choose to serve pitchers of Pimm's. Normally, these are outdoor, summery type occasions - all too rare in the UK climate! Don't know how warm it is in Seattle in April, but there are lots of other recipes on this site, as well as Pimm's.

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/drink_feat_pimms_mixing.asp

 

[Piccolina]

Your party sounds like it's going to be a blast! Here are some links with oodles of cocktail/drinnk recipes:

http://www.webtender.com/

http://cocktails.about.com/

http://www.cocktail.com/ (Great site, they have lots of really good alcohol related articles)

http://www.drinknation.com/ (This site is cool, you can search by things like drink ingredient or theme)

http://www.drinksmixer.com/

http://www.1001cocktails.com/recipes/

http://www.freedrinkrecipes.com/index.html

(It might be good to have a non-alcoholic punch or the ingredients for virgin drinks on hand for those who can't/opt not to drink )

 

[urmaniac13]

Ah, and don't forget to hire a bouncer just in case someone has too much to drink and start misbehaving...