Host A Cocktail Night At Home This Festive Season With 5 Easy Hacks
This festive season, put on your home hosting capes and organise an exquisite gathering to mark the season’s spirit. Host a themed cocktail party, complete with interesting blends, delicious food and even a DIY station where guests can experiment with cocktail ingredients to fashion their own drinks. Here are some easy steps to get you started with the planning for the party:
Create A Signature House Cocktail
Keeping to the festive theme, craft bright, bubbly cocktails like a vodka cranberry spritzer with a lemon twist, an autumnal whisky sour with cinnamon smoke or a gin and tonic infused with sage leaves as the signature cocktail for the evening.
Skip the complicated recipes and go for a balanced, harmonised drink complete with lots of flavourful elements that would suit the festive theme. Such a cocktail can be batched ahead according to the number of guests arriving at the gathering.
Balance With Non-Alcoholic Options
Another hack to plan such a party is to also offer some non-alcoholic options which can double as welcome drinks. Go for bright, zingy mixers like the salty and sour jaljeera or a citrus spritzer containing orange juice and grapefruits as vivacious mixes that fit well into the theme of the gathering.
Set Up A DIY Station
To make the cocktail gathering more interactive, turn one corner of your party space into a DIY station where guests can experiment with cocktail making. Here’s what you will need:
– two to three spirits such as vodka, rum, whisky or tequila which can act as the base liquors for building cocktails
– mixers, including tonic water, sparkling sodas, seasonal fruit juices and more for finishing the drinks
– flavour accents such as simple syrup, grenadine syrup, bitters and seasonal fruit juices like apple juice or pear puree to add to autumnal cocktails
– flavourful garnishes including fresh herbs like basil, mint and rosemary, autumnal spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg and aesthetic alternatives like edible flowers and dehydrated citrus peels
– a couple of recipe cards with detailed recipes to craft some interesting mixes inspired by desi flavours
Complementary Food Pairings
Along with all the festive crunchies from gujiyas to other fried bites to ladoos and burfis, also serve some delicious bar bites that would complement your signature serves. These could be slightly spicier, smokier alternatives like paneer tikka or tandoori mushroom skewers and other snacks like masala papads, artisanal cheeses or spiced peanuts.
Playlist And Lighting
And what would set the overall party-like tone of the evening would be a playlist specially curated for the evening. As well, create an ambience with candles, fairy lights or dim lamps and set up your DIY bar counter in a similarly aesthetic manner by adding small decor accents like citrus bowls or glass stirrers to deck up the look of the party.
All cocktails listed use 30 ml liquor measurements for single serves. Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
