Mixed-Drinks... Party Style!
Ever notice that the hostess with the mostess is the one who always serves perfect mixed-drinks in perfect glasses at the perfect time during a party or even just a drop-in? You may have a completely stocked bar with running water and a built in blender at your place. If you do, you may want to go ahead and skip down to the mixed drink recipes. If your not sure about what you should have on hand, this is definately for you! You can always just start out with a bottle of liquor and some beer and wine. Add to that a corkscrew and a long handled spoon for stirring and you're almost there. You probably should to add some kind of carbonated drink to your bar too. I always try to keep coke and gingerale on hand. You can always add a little at a time (like most of us have done) until you have everything a positively perfect hostess would have. Here is a list to work on as you go: 1 bottle bourbon 1 bottle scotch whiskey 1 bottle rum 1 bottle brandy 1 bottle gin 1 bottle dry vermouth 1 bottle sweet vermouth 1 bottle dry sherry
You'll also need:
Lemons, limes, oranges Pitted olives Lump sugar Maraschino cherries Sweetened lime juice Grenadine Tomato juice Fruit juices
Gadgets you may want: Jigger measure Shaker with screw top and pouring spout Corkscrew Measuring spoons Muddler (a round wooden stick for mixing sugar lumps) Pairing knife (for cutting fruit) Ice bucket Ice Tongs Pitcher Coasters Napkins Dishtowels Tray
A little on Glassware: In today's world, unless you're going formal, having a huge wine tasting, or throwing a cocktail party, you'll probably only need a couple of different kinds of wine glasses, a highball glass, and a water glass (and you can always serve red wine in this.) Red wine is usually served in a glass with a wide-mouth bowl. This helps to release the aroma. White wine, on the other hand, is usually served in a glass with the bowl being larger and a narrower mouth to help concentrate the aroma.
If you want to get more specific, here are some additional glasses to consider:
Stemmed cocktail glass (keeps your hands from warming a drink without ice like white wine) Champagne flutes Brandy snifters V-shaped sherry glasses Liqueur glasses Double highball glasses Beer steins Pilsner glasses Punch glasses And the list goes on. To be honest with you, I don't even have some of this stuff listed. If I did, I'd open a liquor store or a neighborhood bar.
Here are some of our favorite mixed-drinks we've served over the years. Hope you enjoy!
A Day at the Beach
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