Hoffman - BIG-BATCH COCKTAILS: make-ahead pitcher drinks for every occasion

Text copyright 2019 by Margaret Jane Hoffman.

Photographs copyright 2019 by Kelly Puleio.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hoffman, Maggie (Food and drink writer), author. | Puleio, Kelly, photographer.

Title: Big-batch cocktails : make-ahead drinks for every occasion / Maggie Hoffman ;photography by Kelly Puleio.

Description: California : Ten Speed Press, [2019] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018046944

Subjects: LCSH: Cocktails. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX951 .H59 2019 | DDC 641.87/4dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018046944

Hardcover ISBN9780399582530

Ebook ISBN9780399582547

Styling by Maxwell Smith

v5.3.2

prh

Introduction

If youve picked up this book, I think youll agree with me that cocktails are lovely. But over the many years that Ive spent writing about drinks, Ive learned that more than anything, its really the cocktail hour that matters. When you get a drink in someones hand and fill your own glass, youve arrived at a crucial, beautiful moment. Youve set aside your work; your miles-long to-do list is on mute. There may be snacks, dinner will be served somewhere down the line, but for now, you can pause for a sip and a breath; its a time to catch up.

But as anyone who has hosted a cocktail hour knows, theres nothing worse than scrambling at the last minute, trying to mix drinks as your guests walk through the door. Its hard to hold a conversation while searching for lost bitters, knocking over the jigger on the counter, and rattling a shaker full of ice (let alone trying to get the damn thing open). And without fail, just when youre finally about to sit down, your friends are ready for a second round.

This is why Ive gathered together recipes of make-ahead drinks created by some of my favorite bartenders around the country: to set up that moment of calm. With this book in hand, you can make a bunch of cocktails all at once, in advance, and serve them without breaking a sweat. Most of these recipes yield eight or ten servings, but its easy to scale up or down depending on how many people youre expecting. Ill share the techniques and proportions you need to make cocktails that are every bit as delicious as what youd find in a fancy bardrinks that are way more sophisticated than the spiked lemonades and sherbet punches of your past, yet totally easy to execute.

I hope youll use these recipes as an excuse to invite friends over, even if your house is messy, even if you dont have enough chairs. Dont fret over serving a perfect multicourse mealorder pizza. The drinks are made. Theyre ready to pour. Youre not rushing around fussing and jiggering and shaking, being the frenzied perfect host. Theres nowhere else you need to be but with your people, sharing a glass or two.

Maybe reclaiming a relaxing cocktail hour wont save the world, but looking away from our phones for a minute to reconnect with actual human beings over a drink may very well save us from isolation..)

These cocktails are all crowd-pleasers, but Ive organized them by flavor so that you can zero in on the one that may become your signature drink, or the one thats just right for todays mood. Well start off with light little herbal numbers for a sunny day (.

One more thing: Make-ahead drinks arent just for parties and entertaining. Many of these cocktails can be batched and stored in your refrigerator for a month or more (see )which means you can sip away at them whenever the mood strikes. You can bring a full bottle of cocktails over for new parents who might need to declare cocktail hour as soon as their infant finally succumbs to sleep (and cant risk the clattering noise of a shaking tin full of ice). You can prep a batch on a weekend and then have cocktails waiting for you the moment you get home from work for the rest of the weekthats my kind of meal planning. Turn a quiet night into an indulgent one by pulling your stash of ready-made cocktails from the fridge. Then just pour and put your feet up.

You dont need a cocktail shaker for any of the drinks in this book. But there are a few itemsand pieces of informationthat will make serving big-batch drinks easier.

SERVEWARE: PITCHERS AND SWING-TOP BOTTLES

Most of the recipes that follow are portioned for a 2-quart pitcher. These sorts of pitchers can be easily found at kitchenware stores, but its likely that you already have something at home thatll work. Start by measuring the volume of any pitchers you have around the housejust count how many cups of water it takes to fill them. As long as your pitcher can hold at least 8 cups, youre good to go for 2-quart recipes. Dont stress if the vessel you have is a little bigger. Its fine to make these recipes as is; youll just have a little extra room. If youre not quite certain that your pitcher is big enough for the batch, mix it in a larger container first, then pour the finished drink into your serving vessel. (The last thing you want is to discover is that your pitcher just doesnt have space for the last cup of vermouth.)

Consider, also, how many portions you want to have on hand: if youre having a dinner party for four or six, a pitcher of ten cocktails might be plenty, though you know your friends and their drinking habits better than I do. For planning purposes, you can usually figure that guests will likely drink two drinks per hour in the first few hours of a party, and then slow down to one drink per hour. If youre hosting twelve people for a Fourth of July barbecue but also serving wine or beer, you may not need to double the batch. (Or you may opt to make two different drinks instead.)

If youre hosting a larger crowd, pitcher recipes can also be sized up to fill a punch bowl or large standing drink dispenser. Some punch bowls hold just 2 or 3 quarts once a large ice block is added, but many of todays drink dispensers range from 2 to 5 gallons. Of course, you dont need something officially called a punch set to serve punch: A glass or ceramic bowl of adequate size can be paired with a regular ol soup ladle. Again, its wise to pour in cups of water to figure out the capacity of whatever youve brought home from the flea market before you start mixingthis will also help you check for leaks!