EVENT PARTY PLANNING – BARTENDING 101

WINE

White, Red, Sparkling: Do I need all of these?
Consider a few factors:

• The time of day you are hosting
• The food you are serving
• The theme of the party
• The climate of the party setting

What temperature should I serve my wine?
Whites & Blushes: 55° – 60°, refrigerate a few hours
Reds: 60° – 65°, refrigerate for 15 minutes or chill in an ice bucket for 5 minutes.
Champagne/Sparkling: 45°, refrigerate and keep chilled in an ice bucket

Helpful Hints when Selecting & Serving Wines:

• Older and fuller-bodied reds are best served decanted
• When buying Champagne/Sparkling for a toast, select an Extra Dry, since it’s slightly sweeter than Brut
• A 750 ml bottle of Champagne will fill up more champagne flutes (8 flutes) than wine glasses (5 glasses)
• Match the weight of the food to the weight of the wine

 WINE MEASURES 

Metric Measures & Number of 5 oz Servings:

750ml = five 5oz servings
1.5L = ten 5oz servings
1 Case (12-750ml bottles) = sixty 5oz servings

BEER

Like wine, beer comes in different styles and bodies and can be paired with food.

Beer Suggestions by Style:

• Light Bodied: Miller High Life, Coors, Budweiser, Rolling Rock, Corona and all light beers
• Light to Medium Bodied: Molson Golden, Miller Genuine Draft, Dos Equis, Kirin, Peroni
• Medium Bodied: Heineken, Warsteiner, Grolsch, Beck’s
• Medium to Heavy Bodied: Bass Ale, Anchor Steam, Samuel Adams Boston Lager
• Heavy Bodied: Guinness Draft & Mackeson Stout

Kegs or bottles?
Kegs can be a good investment if you plan on having a lot of people at your event or if you want beer to be the beverage of choice. Kegs come in multiple sizes. Be aware that kegs come in a variety of sizes and some must be ordered specially which may require up to two weeks for delivery.

Keg Types

Sixth Barrel – 23 3/8″ tall, 9 1/4″ diameter = 5.2 Gallons (2.5 Cases), 53 servings
Quarter Barrel – 13 7/8″ tall, 16 1/8″ diameter = 7.75 Gallons (3.5 Cases), 82 servings
Slim Quarter Barrel – 23 3/8″ tall, 11 1/8″ diameter =  7.75 Gallons (3.5 Cases), 82 servings
Half Barrel – 23 3/8″ tall, 16 1/8″ diameter = 15.5 Gallons (7 Cases), 164 servings

Spirits and Mixed Drinks

The trendy thing to offer at events is a “Signature Cocktail.” Signature cocktails should go with the theme of your event and are a fun addition. Usually these cocktails use one or two spirits combined with different juices or mixers.

Popular Mixed Drinks:

Vodka

Cosmopolitan:
4 parts Vodka
2 parts Triple Sec
2 parts cranberry juice
1 part fresh lime juice

Screwdriver:
2 parts vodka
6 parts orange juice

Gin

Gin & Tonic:
2 parts gin
5 parts tonic water
lime squeeze garnish (1/8th of a lime – cut the top and bottom of the lime off and throw away, then cut lime in half around the equator and then into quarters)

Martini:
1 part dry vermouth
12 parts gin
olive garnish

Tequila

Margarita:
2 parts tequila
1 part triple sec
2 parts lime juice
rim glass with salt – do not get salt on the inside rim of the glass, just on the outside edge.

Tequila Sunrise:
2 parts tequila
5 parts orange juice
1 part grenadine

Rum

Rum and Coke
2 parts rum
6 parts cola

Pina Colada:
1 part rum
2 parts coconut syrup (Coco Lopez)
3 parts pineapple juice
cherry garnish and a slice of pineapple if you have it

 MEASURES FOR DISTILLED SPIRITS 

Planning Drinks for Your Party Event

Most guests will consume two drinks during the first hour and one drink during each following hour.

When planning an event serving wine, beer and spirits, the general rule of thumb for functions like weddings and other more formal gatherings is that

• 50% will prefer WINE
• 20% will prefer MIXED DRINKS
• 30% will prefer BEER

If you do not anticipate serving mixed drinks at your event, then you should plan on 60% of your guests consuming wine and 40% beer.

Also see “Planning an Outdoor Party for 60 Heavy Drinkers“

…and

“How to sell yourself to a party host“

…and

“How to stock liquor for private parties, wedding receptions, and the like“

BartenderLife

Site Author, David J. Curtis: David Curtis, a seasoned professional with decades of bartending and bar management experience began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife club scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in iconic Midtown clubs and tended bar briefly in the Wall Street area, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa in Exclusive Platinum Service Awards Clubs, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.