HOW TO HOST A PARTY WITH THREE BASIC BOTTLES
We know it can be daunting to flip through pages of recipes, trying to figure out how many different bottles you’ll need before you host friends. Don’t panic. A bar should grow like a library, which is to say a few bottles at a time. If you’re just starting out, here’s a trick we use when we throw open our doors for cocktail hour: pick two star recipes—one crisp, the other brooding. The first recipe will satisfy drinkers who simply want something light and refreshing (read: clear spirits). The second recipe will appeal to those who favor something a bit richer (read: brown spirits).
Once you have your two recipes, fill in around the edges with soda water, vermouth, and some bubbly. These can also be used to build additional drinks. The French 75 and the Boulevardier are two of our favorite party drinks. Once you buy gin, bourbon, and Campari, you only need a couple of additions (sparkling wine, sweet vermouth, and lemons) to get started. From two featured drinks you can make many more—see the list below. For example:
French 75 (page 60): 1 ounce gin, ½ ounce lemon juice, ½ ounce simple syrup (page 241), 4 ounces Champagne
Boulevardier (page 88): 2 ounces bourbon, 1 ounce Campari, 1 ounce sweet vermouth
HOW TO PLAN DRINK PORTIONS
• Plan on roughly three drinks for each guest (guests typically consume two drinks in the first hour, and one drink each hour after).
• Each 750-ml bottle of alcohol will yield about fifteen cocktails.
• For ice, plan on two pounds per guest.
BASIC SHOPPING LIST
Gin | Bourbon | Campari
Sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
Lemons | Demerara sugar (for simple syrup)
Champagne (crémant or Gruet will do)
Soda water
POSSIBLE SHOPPING LIST ADD-ONS TO MAKE MORE RECIPES
Add powdered sugar and soda water to make a Gin Fizz (page 42).
Add ginger beer and Angostura bitters, and you can make a Kentucky Buck (page 176).
Add Angostura bitters and sugar cubes for a bourbon Old Fashioned (page 28) or a Champagne Cocktail (page 205).
Add maraschino cherries, and you can make a bourbon variation on a Manhattan (page 41).
Add tonic water and lime for a Gin and Tonic (page 167).
Add orange wedges, and you can make a Negroni (page 91) or Americano (page 33).
Add honey to make a Bee’s Knees (page 85).
Add mint, and you can make a Mint Julep (page 171).
Add an egg, and you can serve a Whiskey Sour (page 129).
For more, see our index of drinks based on specific spirits (page 271).