Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from EventCheck Knox! Even event planners need to take a break at this time of year, but holiday parties are ongoing, especially with New Year’s Eve just a week away. With that in mind, we are reintroducing an earlier blog entry about how to determine the amount of alcohol needed at an event.
The complete blog can be viewed by clicking here and goes into detail about wine, beer, kegs and liquor so that you can best calculate how much you need to prevent running dry or overflowing. Jerry Kruse of The Pour Guys and Thad Cox Jr., of Ashe’s Wines & Spirits lent their expertise.
The general rule is to make sure each guest has two drinks for the first hour of the party, followed by one drink for every additional hour.
If you host a three-hour party with 10 guests, you would need 20 drinks for the first hour and 20 drinks for hours two and three combined, for a total of 40 drinks.
For the same length of time with 100 guests, you would need 200 drinks for the first hour and 200 drinks for hours two and three combined for a total of 400 drinks.
We also will repeat the reminder to always have water and soda available as beverage options.
Another blog entry we posted earlier this year discussed the trend of specialty drinks. The holiday season is the perfect time to serve drinks that tie into the festivities of Christmas and the New Year.
Here are some examples that should wow guests from a small gathering to a large group.
Apple on the Rocks – consisting of apple liqueur, maple syrup, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, chilled hard cider and apple wedge – is described as a “winter alternative to a mimosa” and can be made fairly quickly.
Hot Scarlet Wine Punch – consisting of stick cinnamon, whole cloves, cranberry juice, packed brown sugar, white Zinfandel or dry white wine and cranberry-cinnamon swizzle sticks – takes some prep time, primarily three hours in a slow cooker, but its aroma and warmth would set the mood for a holiday party.
Peppermint Frost, on the other hand, has a prep time of 10 minutes. The needed ingredients are a lemon wedge, finely crushed peppermint sticks, white creme de cacao, peppermint schnapps, half-and-half or light cream, vodka and ice cubes. It’s a cocktail and a creamy Christmas drink.
Brandy-Kissed Snowflakes is a wintry delight with a mixture of vanilla ice cream, brandy, white creme de cacao, ice cubes, whipped cream and ground cinnamon.
Set the tone for a Tennessee new year with Orange-Cherry Champagne Cocktails. This is another easy-to-prepare drink with seedless oranges, orange peel, pitted red cherries, sweet vermouth, blended Scotch and chilled champagne or dry, sparkling wine.
Premix some Pomegranate Margaritas with thawed limeade concentrate, gold tequila, pomegranate juice, triple sec, water, limes and fresh pomegranate seeds for a ready-to-pour holiday pleaser.
A Pot of Gold would be the perfect start to a new year, and this mix of pinot grigio, orange liqueur, simple syrup, lime juice, lemon juice, soda water and aromatic cocktail bitters puts some pop into a party.
Finally, you can toast the New Year with a Resolution Martini, a simple blend of gin, apricot brandy and fresh lemon juice for a dry, sweet and sour taste.
Or celebrate the official start of 2015 with a Midori Melon Ball Drop, which consists of Midori Melon Liqueur, citrus vodka, elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice, sugar for rimming and melon ball for garnish.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all event planners. Be festive, and have fun. You earned it.
Maria Cornelius, a writer/editor for Moxley Carmichael, populates the EventCheck calendar. Despite finding all these festive drinks, she still is more likely to attend your event if it has Miller Lite in the vintage bottle on ice. And cats and dogs present. And sports on television.