Serving cocktails at a dinner party is more important than you might think. Theyβre the first line of defense against impatient or judgemental guests. No one will complain if the chicken is dry or the ice cream is melted if you keep the libations flowing. (Running out of booze, on the other hand, is a cardinal offense.) Here, the best drinks to serve at your next fancy-pants dinner party.
Entertaining
The 9 Best Drinks to Serve at a Dinner Party
Knowing how to make a great Martini is a simple but suave-as-heck skill that every host should master. Plus, the drinkβs flexibility means everyone at the party can get their own personalized variation. Just study up ahead of time so you wonβt miss a beat on that 50/50 with a twist.
The Essentials
Gin
Dry Vermouth
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Like a siren song, the rattling ice of a cocktail shaker at work instantly whets the appetite of everyone in the room. When all eyes turn to the shaker, expecting a bright Daiquiri to emerge, pour out this deep purple concoction and blow your guestsβ minds.
The Essentials
Gin
Crème de Violette
Maraschino
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This classic sour laid the groundwork for drinks like the Sidecar and Gimlet. While both of those tart go-tos are dinner party appropriate, the Crusta has the added appeal of a crystalline sugared rim. Skip the centerpiece and give everyone their own personal work of mixological art.
The Essentials
brandy
orange curaΓ§ao
lemon juice
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It may not be Japanese, but this cocktail will give you the subtle, impressive air of a well-traveled host. An odd shaken combination of brandy, orgeat and bitters, the drink is sure to pique the interest of even the most educated cocktailians at the party and provide a nutty complement to hearty fare.
The Essentials
Cognac
orgeat
Angostura Bitters
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Itβs easy enough to mix up a few Old Fashioneds for yourself and a drinking partner, but if youβve got a table full of guests to serve, you donβt want to deal with all that muddling. Instead, opt for that other great whiskey cocktail, which can easily be batched out ahead of time and stored in the freezer.
The Essentials
Whiskey
Sweet Vermouth
bitters
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The simple, elegant Negroni is a dinner party homerun. Itβs hard to mess up, and itβs easy to win guestsβ favor with the striking, bitter cocktail. But it could be fancier. Enter the Boulevardier, a rye-based Negroni variation whose name rolls off the tongue (booluh-var-dyey) as easily as the drink rolls down your throat. Please your guests palates, eyeballs and earballs with this becoming cocktail.
The Essentials
Rye
Campari
Sweet Vermouth
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Spend more time talking to your guests than mixing drinks for them with this easily scaled-up and pre-batched cocktail. In fact, it was originally intended to be served by the punchbowl when it appeared in Harry Craddockβs 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. On the other hand, if you prefer a more manicured approach, you can mix individual evocations of grand old Paris to order.
The Essentials
Brandy
Green Chartreuse
Lemon juice
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Pull out a bottle of celebratory bubbly at a dinner party and people will automatically hold out their Champagne flutes. βNot so fast,β youβll say, grabbing a Highball and mixing up an Airmail, the Caribbean counterpart to the French 75. Itβs good to be unexpected.
The Essentials
Gold rum
Honey syrup
Champagne
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After the last fork has fallen and youβve stuffed your guests on delicious noms, itβs time to break out the digestifs. While the category spans a range of spirits from sweet liqueurs to brandy, this scotch variation on a Manhattan is a perfect compromiseβa little sweet, a little herbal, a lot boozy and wonderfully stomach settling.
The Essentials
Scotch
Sweet Vermouth
Bitters
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