Getting in the Spirit! Throwing an Easy, Classy Cocktail Party
A cocktail party is a great way to get together with your friends, and meet new people. Less threatening than a dinner party, a cocktail party can be the busy entertainer's best friend. Here are some ideas for a swanky soiree that will make you the toast of the town. Just remember, if you're having a good time, your guests will be too. So keep things easy, elegant, and fun.
Set the Scene
The very idea of a cocktail party inspires images of a Hollywood era gone by. Keep things sophisticated and chic by dimming the overhead lights. Instead of those harsh bulbs, set up silver candle holders, and sexy mood lighting. Added bonus: everyone looks better in dimmer light! Forgo traditional party decorations. Instead, a few vases filled with long stem red roses or while calla lilies will give you the feel you're after. Push your couches and chairs back a bit to make sure there's enough room for mingling. Also, check and make sure there are plenty of places to set down a drink.
Dress the Part
If your friends will play along, have everyone come dressed to the nines. Think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Beautiful dresses, hats, and fur throws for the women. Monocles, dinner jackets, pipes for the men. Or for a more casual approach, insist that everyone comes dressed in all black or white.
Upscale Bar Food.
You want to keep the food at a cocktail party simple. Finger foods, placed strategically around the room will keep people, and conversation, flowing. Don't set everything out at once. Keep people interested by periodically replacing the plate of appetizers at each station. Ideally, you should give the feeling of three "courses". Remember, easy doesn't have to be boring. Instead of popping the top off a grocery store container of cold veggies, try whipping up some jazzy appetizers of your own. Taking a can of store bought roasted nuts and tossing it in a combination of warm butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper will create a scrumptious glaze that tastes like much more work than it is! And if you're setting out chilled shrimp, try this alternative to store bought cocktail sauce: Mix one and a half cups of ketchup with the juice of one small lime, a teaspoon of sugar, a dash of soy sauce, a small jalapeno chili (deseeded and chopped finely), a handful of chopped cilantro, and some black pepper.
Bring on the Booze
The most important component of a cocktail party is, of course, the cocktails! Avoid beer and wine. People drink these all the time, and the whole point of a cocktail party is to try something new. Again, keeping it simple is key. If you are stuck in the kitchen, mixing drinks and looking harried, your guests will feel less than comfortable. Instead, mix up a couple of pitchers of specialty drinks. Below, I've added the recipes for a Drunken Superman and a California Rattlesnake. Then, set out a table with classic alcohol and mixer combinations, and let people make their own masterpieces. Make sure to include, vodka, gin, rum, scotch, whiskey, tequila, grenadine, seltzer water, club soda, ginger ale lime wedges, orange rings, cherries, and sweet and sour mix. This should cover the basics for most drinks. Place a big bucket of ice, a martini shaker, and a book of cocktail recipes on the table, and see what people come up with. For inspiration, you might even want to have a contest to see who can create the best martini. Or better yet, invent your own drink and give it a crazy name.
Just remember, keep it simple and fresh, and your guests will have a great time.
Drunken Superman (Makes one pitcher or about 8 cocktails)
5 oz Tequila
5 oz Triple Sec
5 oz Rum
Sweet and Sour Mix
3 oz lime juice
Ice
Fill the pitcher about halfway with ice. Add the tequila, the triple sec, the rum and the lime juice. Stir. Fill the rest of the pitcher with sweet and sour mix.
California Rattlesnake (Makes one pitcher or about 8 cocktails)
5 oz Rum
5 oz Southern Comfort
5 oz Amaretto
5 oz Grenadine
1 can 7up
Sweet and sour mix
Mix all ingredients in a pitcher. Float orange and lime slices on top. Serve over ice