Your guests arrive. Give them what they want: a drink. CHOW Senior Editor Lessley Anderson shares her tip for getting ready for a cocktail party.
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If you're going to make cocktails in advance and store them in the fridge, it's wise to add some water to the mix. A big part of shaking the drink is diluting it slightly with the melted ice. If you were to mix up something the usual way, put it in the fridge, then shake it with ice, it's going to be too strong to drink. Start with half of the cocktail's volume of water, taste, and then keep going from there.
Stick with just the one cocktail- if you make drinks to order all night, you won't get to have any fun at your own cocktail party. Keep any other drink lists simple- there's a reason art gallery openings only have white wine and bottled water. If you want to expand offerings, keep it to the cocktail, one beer, one wine, and plenty of bottled water and you'll stay sane.
That makes sense to add a little water to make up for the melted ice, but I don't know about half of the cocktails volume. That'll make for a pretty watery cocktail.
If you're going to make cocktails in advance and store them in the fridge, it's wise to add some water to the mix. A big part of shaking the drink is diluting it slightly with the melted ice. If you were to mix up something the usual way, put it in the fridge, then shake it with ice, it's going to be too strong to drink. Start with half of the cocktail's volume of water, taste, and then keep going from there.
Stick with just the one cocktail- if you make drinks to order all night, you won't get to have any fun at your own cocktail party. Keep any other drink lists simple- there's a reason art gallery openings only have white wine and bottled water. If you want to expand offerings, keep it to the cocktail, one beer, one wine, and plenty of bottled water and you'll stay sane.
That makes sense to add a little water to make up for the melted ice, but I don't know about half of the cocktails volume. That'll make for a pretty watery cocktail.