The Exquisite Art Of Pairing Liquor With Wedding Cuisine
Weddings bring joy, festive revelries, celebrations and tons of guests who come to share the special day of two people marking their love in front of friends and family. Everything from the venue to the decor to the dresses, sarees, suits and coats make up the checklist for ensuring that all goes well and smooth on this big day. But what is also one of the most sought after and appealing aspects of any wedding fun is of course food. Guests might enjoy the decor and flowers for a minute or two, but what they will most savour is a delicious menu crafted with precision.
In most weddings where liquor is a part of the celebratory affair, champagne figures prominently as a way to mark the special day. Yet, according to the cuisine and courses designed to mark the occasion, other wines and spirits are also brought in to add a bit of culinary fun to the diners’ tables. The art of pairing a wedding menu with the right kind of drinks then involves an acute understanding of the theme of the overall ceremony and of the preferences of the couple, which after all, is the highlight of the day!
Themed Cuisine And Spirits
Quite often, wedding menus are curated to a specific theme which is dearest to the couple. This includes an array of choices from a rustic affair involving roast chicken and potatoes, to a more elegant one consisting of smoked salmon with wild rice. Sometimes, the couple wishes to go for a broader theme like Asian cuisine which might include everything from sweet and tangy proteins to sushi or even opt for a mediterranean repast consisting of hummus, olives, some baba ganoush and pickled veggies.
For such repasts, the art of pairing liquor involves understanding which wines would go well with the flavours of the cuisine while aligning it with the overarching celebratory note. This means that for each separate course you might want to change the liquor and the glasses in which it is served. During toasts, you can enjoy seafood appetisers and accompany that with champagne or any other sparkling wine because you can then raise your glasses to the happy couple. Fresh, light seafood would go well at this special moment.
Seasonal Liquors
They say, marry in May, rue the day! And if Bride Wars has taught us anything, it is that June weddings at The Plaza are the perfect season and time to get married! Seasons and months in the calendar have a big role to play in planning wedding cuisines. In many cultures in India, a marriage takes place only upon looking at the calendar and arriving at a date and time that is most auspicious for the couple. And this has a direct impact on the dishes that will be part of the wedding cuisine.
Undoubtedly, curating liquors for weddings means paying close attention to when the wedding is scheduled to happen. Rosé or champagne rosé is great for celebrating a summer wedding and can work splendidly with grilled meats and salads that would figure prominently on the menu. If you host a summer wedding with a barbecue you can also dabble in cocktails and serve up some really potent rum and tequila mixes. During winters you can opt for slightly warmer spirits like hot toddy or even some Baileys infused mixes for a comforting vibe.
Wedding Venue
Whether a wedding is being held indoors or outdoors also factors prominently in deciding your cocktails and liquors. For outdoor weddings, there is more opportunity to play around with ingredients that would introduce freshness and a bit of vitality into cocktails. When a wedding happens indoors you might want to opt for drinks that are well-suited to being served at your table such as gin and wine pairings.
Designing a signature cocktail for the couple is another possibility when you are coming up with a bar menu for a wedding. The art of pairing liquor with wedding cuisine is then about understanding the couple's style. For an adventure-loving couple who is hosting an outdoor wedding, go all out with the wedding menu and bring out some pizzas, sliders and other fun items paired with the frothiest beer!
