One of my favorite things about hosting a dinner party for friends is the ability to get creative with drinks I’m serving them. You can never go wrong with a solid red or white wine for dinner, but sometimes that mixologist bug bites me (I think in another life, my calling would have been mixology, I love it so much!) and I want to make them something a little more involved than just pouring a glass of red wine. But after cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping and prepping the food for the night, cooking the food, and greeting guests, the idea of pouring single serving cocktails to a group of 7 or 8 friends sucks all the fun out of the party for me. Instead of catching up with great friends, I’d find myself stuck behind my bar cart, making drinks for the majority of the ‘cocktail hour’. So my go-to now for cocktails at a dinner party? PRE-BATCHED BABY!

Here’s the great thing about pre-batching cocktails, you pour them just like you pour wine. Simple and easy and gives you time to hang with your guests instead of slinging drinks all night. Pro tip* you don’t need to spend a ton of money on an expensive liquor to mix in. Don’t do the absolute bottom shelf, we don’t want anyone getting sick, but if it’s in a mixed drink, you don’t need to be buying a $45 dollar bottle of Basil Hayden whiskey to make Old Fashioneds. I remember ordering an Old Fashioned at a bar that I loved and after finding out they used Evan Williams in it, I haven’t gone back. Whether it’s a tequila or a gin or a whiskey, experiment a bit with which brands you like that are affordable but don’t compromise the quality or taste of the drink.

You’ll be using what seems to be a lot of alcohol and you won’t be wrong. Using the Old Fashioned recipe I list below, you can choose either 1.5 or 2 ounces for each drink. I chose 2 ounces because my group of friends and I enjoy a stronger Old Fashioned. Accounting for each person in your 7 person dinner party having 2 drinks, you’ll be using 28 ounces of whiskey. One normal 750 L bottle of whiskey is equivalent to just over 24 ounces. I buy the bigger 1.75 L bottle of Evan Williams whiskey for $17 at my local grocery store and every time I served it in an Old Fashioned, it’s been a hit. Whatever cocktail you decide to use, I hope that pre-batching it helps save you just a little extra time to connect and hang with your guests.

Pre-Batched Old Fashioned Recipe - serves 7-14

30 ounces of whiskey or bourbon
3/4 ounce of Angostura bitters
2 1/2 ounces of simple syrup

To make simple syrup, bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil until fully integrated

Add all ingredients to large pitcher and stir to combine. Cover and store in fridge. To serve, pour over a large ice cube and garnish with an orange twist.

A Slower Approach to Hosting and the Pre-Batched Cocktail to Help