How do you batch cocktails for a wedding?

How do you batch cocktails for a wedding?

Multiply each ingredient by the number of servings, add about 20% water for a stirred drink, chill the batch, and keep citrus, dairy, eggs, and carbonation out of long storage. A 50-serving Old Fashioned is 100 oz bourbon, 12.5 oz syrup, 100 dashes bitters, and about 22 oz water.

The formula

Per-serving volume × servings = batch volume. For a stirred drink, add water at roughly 20% of the batch so the first pour tastes like a stirred drink rather than a neat one. For a shaken drink, the citrus is usually added fresh; for a carbonated drink, the bubbles are added per glass.

What keeps and what does not

Spirits, syrup, and bitters hold for hours. Fresh citrus loses its edge, dairy and eggs are a food-safety problem, and carbonation leaves. Batch the stable base, then add the fragile part at service.

• Keep the batch cold and covered; label it with the time it was made.
• Add citrus within a few hours of service, not the day before.
• Do not batch eggs or dairy for a room-temperature bar.
• Add sparkling wine, soda, or tonic per glass.
• Taste a small serving before the batch is poured; the first glass is the calibration.

Vessels and ice

A food-grade drink dispenser with a spigot is easier than a pitcher at a self-serve bar. Keep the batch in the refrigerator or on ice, not in the sun. If the batch is poured over ice, the ice is the dilution; do not add the full water amount and then let it sit in a tub.

Keep going

• his and hers
• drink calculator
• non alcoholic