Hosting a cocktail party is a wonderful way to entertain a diverse guest list of friends, acquaintances or colleagues and is sometimes called a cocktail reception. Some wedding events are preceded by a cocktail hour where guests may socialize while enjoying drinks and appetizers. Event organizers use the cocktail hour to give guests a chance to break the ice and to lessen the number of late arrivals.
There are some fundamental guidelines to hosting an instant hit cocktail party.
- Set Time. The customary time schedule for a cocktail party is two (2) to three (3) hours in length held between 6 pm to 10 pm. Hotel and restaurant managers sometimes use cocktail hour between 4 pm to 6 pm.
- Buy More Than Enough Ice. Make a mental note that you will more than enough ice not just for drinks, but also chilling bottles and cans. Usually, getting 1 lb. of ice per guest should be enough.
- Stock a variety of glasses, depending on the type of drinks you plan to serve to your guests. Great examples of cocktail glasses includes Martini glasses, Margarita glasses, Pina Colada glasses, Hurricane glasses, Tom Collins glasses, Cocktail Punch Bowls, Shot glasses, Champagne Glasses, Irish Coffee glasses, and Boston glass.
If you’re looking for something eccentric or outlandish, you can try incorporating novelty cocktail glasses, such a cocktail fish bowls, LED light up cocktail glasses, enormous cocktail glasses and reusable plastic cocktail glasses.
As with quantity, be prepared with approximately double as many glasses on hand available as you’ll have guests.
- Keep a supply of drinks readily available at your bar.
For wine drinker guests, have at least one bottle for every pair, supposing 5 servings per bottle.
For beer drinker guests, have at least one six-pack for every pair, supposing 12 oz. servings.
Take one or two liquors that can be created into different kinds of cocktails (probably tequila, rum, scotch, bourbon, vodka, gin or whiskey).
Also, do not forget your cocktail garnishes and mixers like fruit juice, red bull, tonic, cola, limes, grenadine, lemons, tomato juice horseradish, olives, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce. The essential cocktail mixer is seltzer or club soda. Seltzer is simply water and carbon dioxide (made by pressurizing water with CO2) while club soda may have few other minerals added (like salt).
- Prepare the menu. Target for variations (white meat, red meat, poultry, seafood, vegetarian, hot, cold, spicy, and sweet). If you are planning not to serve dinner, estimate 6 bites per person, but remember that it’s always practical to have more food than not enough.
Hire a catering service like Holy City Catering that offers affordable scrumptious cocktail foods attractively presented with a floral garnish by professional servers. Their menu includes:
- Tomato Tartlets
- Artichoke Goat Cheese Tartlets
- Southwestern Chicken Tartlets
- Caprese Bamboo Skewers
- Mini Lowcountry Crab Cakes
- Coconut Shrimp
- Mini Lowcountry Eggrolls
- Soup Shots served in Mini-Mason Jars
- Smoked Salmon Cucumber Canapé
- BBQ Pork
- Beef Tenderloin
- Opt for their sushi rolling to enjoy their specialty sushi rolls!
- Serve coffee to your guests at the culmination of your party as a courtesy. It is a great idea to have a hotline of a local taxi service for those guests without a designated driver.
Most importantly have fun and enjoy socializing with your guests at your cocktail party. Do not forget to compliment your guests for their attire. Check out Charleston Catering Venues for fantastic venue options for your fabulous cocktail party.
Holy City Catering 
Posted on September 3, 2012
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