Holiday Celebrations and Traditional Cocktails

Holiday Bartending

Traditonal drinks are always served at holiday celebrations and this is expected by most drinkers. Eggnog at Christmas, Champagne on New Years Eve. Although it has become the norm to serve large volumes of the cheapest possible Champagne, it was once the standard to serve one or two drinks of the very best you could afford. But none the less a good Bartender can deliver many other exciting and festive drinks to liven up holiday celebrations. There is nothing more tantalizing and profitable than offering your customers or guests something festive but unexpected.

Almost any holiday is an excuse to get creative behind the bar. Red, White and Blue concoctions are big hits on the Fourth of July, Pink drinks or drinks made with Eggs are popular at Easter and green drinks are a staple on St Patricks Day. This year, get imaginative with your holiday drinks and watch your drinkers gobble them up! There are many variations of Eggnog and I am giving a few recipes here on the blog. Cold Weather Punches are a big hit at most parties; I will give some recipes for these as well. For New Years Eve, any variation of the traditional Champagne Cocktail is an exciting offer. I have a few wine and champagne recipes I will give as well. Hot Drinks are another alternative especially if the weather is harsh on the day of the party or event. I have given quite a few recipes for delicious hot cocktails, just enter the term "hot drink" into the search engine for the blog.

Just for fun, I am going to add some drinks made up especially for Halloween and Thanksgiving, although I know those holidays have passed. They will be useful next year. I will tag all of the recipes with the holiday they are designed for so if you are looking for ideas for a specific holiday, just type in the name of that holiday to find those recipes. An example: Christmas. Another example: hot drink. Or another example: punch.

Always keep lots of seasonal treats on the bar. Candy Canes (for stirring drinks!) , Candy Pumpkins, Nuts, Tin Foil Chocolate Drops in a variety of colors and colorful sprinkles for those drinks that are topped with Whipped Cream. Push the sweet, tasty drinks because a lot of people who never drink or rarely drink take a cocktail or two over the holidays and these people prefer less intense cocktails, such as those made with sweets or sugar syrup. Drinks made with Coffee can be popular, too, for the most part because they are warming but also because they tend to keep people awake during the party. And, as always, keep an eye out for someone who is out of control, drinking too much or getting obnoxious. These people need to be removed from the bar to keep them from chasing off your other customers or guests.

During the holidays, stock the bar with Wine, Champagne, sweet Liqueurs, Whipped Cream, Cream, Kahlua, Coffee, Amaretto, Peppermint Schnapps and Baileys Irish Cream, as well as the usual array of popular liquors. Make sure you have Brandy on hand, even if you never use it during the rest of the year. Hot Brandy and Rum Toddies are very popular when it gets cold outside. Buy darker liquors, like Dark Rum, Anjeo, Bourbons, Cognacs, Southern Comfort and other darker colored liquors, which make fantastic winter fare. Shots of liqueurs like Vandermint sell well over the winter holidays.

Hot chocolate mix should always be kept at the bar. This is a great basic mixer for standard mixed hot drinks; Vandermint and Hot Chocolate, for instance. It is also a great product to have for those who do not drink alcohol and for young adults who attend the party or celebration. Marshmallows, natural Angelica and Liquorice stems and crystallized flowers are other, more imaginative offerings you might want to consider. You know your guests or your customers better than anyone. Just don't be afraid to get creative and imaginative; the holidays are the best excuse anyone ever has to have a good time.

Making The Perfect Punch

There is no better way to serve a big crowd of people for less money than with punch. Most people love it and it makes a party really swing, especially if you are generous with the ingredients. And with the money it saves you over mixing individual drinks, you can afford to be generous. It is one mix where you can actually use cheaper versions of some alcohol products without ruining the taste. The secret to making a perfect punch has to do with ingredients that both complement and set each other off.

Punch has a history dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when Rum was all the rage. However, since then the methods of making punch have evolved to include almost any liquor that your guests will like. Punches are often made and served during the holidays when large crowds congregate or at events like weddings or reunions. Rum is still a popular choice for most punches because it mixes so well with various juices and soda pops. Many die hard punch fans won't even serve a punch that doesn't include Rum and Rum Punch is the most famous of all. However, in recent years it also become popular to load a punch with something like 100 proof Vodkas in order to get the guests drunk quickly. It is up to you what kind of punch you serve to your guests just be sure to remember the flavors you use as you go along or you will end up with a mess.

If you wish to make a traditional punch, stay with Rum. In choosing the Rum it is safe to cut corners and buy a cheaper brand because if the punch is well made no one will know the difference. A well thought out mix of juices, sugars, fruits and sodas will mask the nuances of cheaper liquor and the punch will be fine. Still, there is no substitute for finer quality and if your guests are well heeled or drinkers of finer liquor, you may not be able to please them otherwise. Again, this will depend upon your wallet. Another consideration when making punches is not only the event but the time of year or season. A punch that would go over big at a winter gathering may be a flop at the poolside this summer. So consider seasonal ingredients and whether a punch will be hot or cold in relation to the weather or season before making.

In cold weather, both in fall and winter, substantial punches are a hit. Milk based punches and punches that are served hot will go over well. The traditional Cold Weather Punch, Fish House Punch, Hot Rum and Cider Punch and, of course, Eggnog are beloved favorites in the cold season. If the event is a wedding or a New Years Eve celebration, consider making Champagne Punches instead of Rum. Something like the Bellini Punch, which is a Peach and Champagne blend, is great for black tie events. And, then, during the summer around the pool, a summer mix like Florida Punch, Tropical Fruit Punch or Rainbow Sherbet Punch will go over with a bang. They are the ultimate hot weather treats.

On the whole, punches are not appropriate for cocktail parties, small gatherings or birthday parties. However, they make great beverage solutions for office parties, business promotions, vendor presentations, anniversary parties and private performances. The greatest advantage of making punch is that once it is served, you can just relax and enjoy our party or business meeting while your guests help themselves. The one disadvantage to serving punch is that it encourages constant service in contrast to one having to wait to be served the next drink and this, in turn, encourages drunkenness. I have been to many a celebration where people are staggering and swaying around the punch bowl, spilling it and still drinking. Because people tend to overimbibe when you allow them to serve themselves punch, be sure to have reserve stashed in a cold place somewhere to refill the bowl when it drains, as it most often does, before the party ends. But do not be surprised to find people sleeping on couches or sitting in the front seat of their cars, dazed and not able to leave. The clever business person would arrange for their transportation to the hotel or to home after such an event while the family member might want to make up spare beds for friends to sleep it off.

While alcoholic punches make for ribald partying and are great for most events where people expect to raise hell, such as at weddings and office parties, non alcoholic punches are a good idea for smaller family gatherings where there are non drinkers and children. For the kids, the Rainbow Sherbet Punch can be lots of fun. But on any occasion where alcohol is not called for but the idea of serving large numbers is, then make up any punch on the list but just leave out the alcohol. It will taste fine and serve the same purpose as the alcoholic punch on the same sort of occasion.

In warmer weather, Sangrias and wine based punches, as well as punches loaded with fruit and exotic juices, are popular coolers for the spring and summer party. A Strawberry Bowl or a Polynesian Punch Bowl can turn your summer pool party into a ribald swimsuit contest. Traditional drinks, on the other hand, like Mint Juleps and Wine Coolers can be made up into larger and larger quantities and served as a punch. Consider this during traditional events such as sports parties where people watch horse races or ball games. And milk based punches, as long as they are served cold, can also be hits in the summer, especially with younger adults.

Ice cubes are not recommended for use in most punches. You cool the punch by dropping in a big bock of ice into the punch bowl because this melts very slowly and doesn't water everything down so fast. You can reduce the need for even this if you cool every ingredient thoroughly before mixing; putting the liquors into the freezer overnight often helps. Generally speaking, however, for cold punches, a 2 qt block of ice is recommended for every gallon of punch. And here's another tip for making a great punch: do not add club soda, cola or other carbonated beverages until just before serving. This helps preserve their sparkle and gives the punch a fresh pop when served.

If you are new to making punch or nervous about it at all, then take your time experimenting by making up some of the single serving punches I have posted on the blog. Once you get these prepared and enjoy the results, you will be ready to jump into the deep end. Serving a crowd can be harrowing on every level, from the food to the music to the punch so try making up some smaller punches for testing so that you will feel more secure when you get ready to make up punch for family and friends.

Technorati Tags: punch, how to, bartending, tips, diy, method, bar, nighclub, party, entertaining

Great Halloween Drinks

Halloween is just around the corner and a lot of folks are planning parties. Theme parties are the funnest, where people dress up and role play. Halloween is the best excuse for these kind of parties and I have always loved dressing up and playing along. If you are thinking about throwing a theme party for Halloween, here are some great drink ideas.

First of all, there are the traditional Halloween drinks like the Zombie, Black Witch, White Lady, Black Lady, Cats Eye and Black Magic. These can be made up and served at any party on Halloween. But if you are thinking about doing something really unusual, here are some great themes: Try throwing a "whodunnit" party with a mystery to solve, serve Death in the Afternoon or Moonlight and give a prize for the person who solves the mystery.

Another idea is to theme around certain costumes, like serving the Pirate Cocktail or the Gypsy and then give prizes to people who show up dressed as Pirates or Gypsys. Late October and early November is the birth time of Scorpio. If you have a Scorpio who is celebrating a birthday, center the party around that theme and serve the Scorpion.

The Red Devil or the El Diablo are great drinks to serve at a party and then give prizes to people who dress up as the red one. Or have everyone dress up as a single costume, like a pirate, devil or gypsy and then let everyone vote for the best. The traditional Bloody Mary is a great theme if you are good at decorating really scary stuff like bloody corpses and ghosts. The Bloody Mary is also very good served as a virgin drink for those guests who do not drink alcohol.

And then there is the Black Hawk and the White Spider, which are variable offerings that can be used for the right theme. I have seen the white spider theme used magically with a big spider made of paper mache and stuffed sheets. I haven't seen the hawk done at all, so that would be up to you and your own ideas.

All of these ideas are really fun at Halloween and help to centralize the theme of your party. Get somebody to tell fortunes or spin scary ghost stories. Play theme music and, if you are really gutsy, have a seance. A crystal ball always makes a great addition to a dark room full of scary costume faces, ghostly music and a bar serving Bloody Marys and Zombies. Have at it.. and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: halloween, drinks, parties, party themes, party ideas, cocktails, bartending, entertaining, holiday, seasonal