5 Bar Strategies for a Fabulous Party
Hosting family + friends at your place? Follow these tips from our friends at RealSimple to make sure your bar is stocked so you can enjoy the festivities along with your guests.
We’ll toast to that!
Streamline.
Offer a single house cocktail. Supplement with wine, beer, and sparkling water. *Being in the real estate industry, we always lean towards lighter-colored drinks, so opt to protect your interiors and choose perhaps a champagne cocktail or winter white sangria.
Prevent a bottleneck.
The first thing guests do is head for the drinks. Uncork wine before the party starts to eliminate the kiss-Larry-on-the-cheek-while-struggling-with-the-bottle two-step. Put wine and beer in an ice bath a half hour before guests arrive. Fill a pretty galvanized bucket with ice, water, and a handful of salt.
Stock up on ice.
In addition to the ice for the bucket, “you’ll need at least one 10-pound bag for every four guests,” says Mindy Kobrin, the founder of Mindy’s Meals on Heels, an event-planning company in New York City.
Make enough to drink.
When whipping up batches of your house drink, “assume guests will consume two cocktails in the first hour and one drink an hour after that,” says Meghan Andalman, the owner of Lovebird Events, in Chicago. *Be sure to provide some non-alcoholic options for guests who do not drink alcohol. We always like to have a bottle or two of sparkling cider on hand at our team events + gatherings.
Have a variety of glasses on hand.
Mismatched vessels look great. Figure each guest will use at least three glasses. *If you’re worried about glassware breaking, opt for plastic tumblers or champagne flutes from Amazon or your local party store.
