Batched Cocktails are the Ultimate Holiday Party Trick
On the Vikre Distillery team, one of the holiday things that we love the most is having people over. Hosting - bringing people we care about together - is one of those things that stops us in our tracks, slows down time, and places us squarely in that moment of being perfectly present with others. Wanting nothing, celebrating everything, being joyful, and having fun. That is peak holiday.
So, we love hosting. We think a great party is a great contribution to the world. But none of us love being stressed out with party prep. And even if we are cocktail professionals, we don’t want to be shaking and stirring for our guests all night long when we aren’t at work. We want to be in the thick of the fun. That’s why making batched cocktails to let people serve themselves is our ultimate party hack. Think a pretty pitcher of old fashioneds, Manhattans, or negronis set out with a bucket of ice, a bunch of glasses and a bowl of citrus twists for garnish. Perfection.
One simple trick for scaling up cocktails for a crowd is that you can instantly convert a cocktail recipe from a single serving to eight servings simply by replacing the word ounce in the measurements with the word cup! 2 ounces becomes 2 cups, ½ ounce becomes ½ cup and so on. Another trick is to predilute your cocktails so they are ready to serve. Shaking or stirring a cocktail with ice generally adds another 15-25% of total volume to the cocktail through the melting of ice. So, if you are batching a cocktail that would normally be shaken or stirred, do just a touch of math to calculate and add 20ish% water. (So, say you made 4 cups of cocktail, then you would add another 4/5ths to 1 cup of water.) Finally chill your batched cocktail(s) for at least a few hours before your party.
Here are four of our favorite batched cocktails, perfect for a holiday party!
Party Martini
(8 servings, double for 16)
1 ½ cups Vikre Spruce Gin
1 ½ cups Dolin Dry vermouth
⅔ cup water
Olive brine, green olives, and lemon peel slices for serving
Combine the gin, vermouth, and water in a pitcher or heavy glass jar. Place in the refrigerator (this one you can also freeze) for at least three hours before your party.
To serve, transfer the martini to a pretty pitcher or carafe. Allow guests to pour martinis into small coupe glasses and choose whether to add a splash of olive juice, olives, or lemon twists.
Festive Cosmopolitan Punch
(8 servings, double for 16)
1 ½ cups Vikre Juniper Gin
½ cup Vikre Aperitivo Classico
3 cups cranberry juice cocktail
½ cup lime juice
½ cup water
Lime slices or rosemary sprigs to garnish
Ice to serve (optional)
Combine the Juniper gin, Aperitivo Classico, cranberry juice, lime juice, and water in a sturdy container and place in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
To serve, transfer the punch to a pretty pitcher. Allow guests to pour cocktails into low glasses or coupes and to add a garnish and ice if desired.
Northwoods Negroni
(8 servings, double for 16)
1 ½ cups Vikre Cedar Gin
1 cup Vikre Amaro Superiore
1 cup sweet vermouth
⅔ cup water
Orange slices or twists to garnish
Ice to serve (optional)
Combine the Cedar Gin, Amaro Superiore, Sweet Vermouth, and water in a sturdy container and place in the refrigerator for at least three hours (this cocktail can also be chilled in the freezer).
To serve, transfer to a pretty pitcher. Allow guests to pour cocktails into low glasses and to add ice and an orange slice or twist, if desired.