Time (and Work) Savers

One of the worst feelings is throwing a party and not getting to enjoy it because you're making everyone's drinks all night. Now, if you're not hiring a pro like myself to work your party, you can still have a good time and not have to make drinks all night by mixing up big batches of some popular cocktails and putting them in bottles and then putting them in the fridge.

Now, for each of these recipes, you'll need two things. One, a 750ml bottle (you can either buy one or clean out an empty bottle and take the labels off) to pour into and, two, a funnel, so you don't make a mess all over the place. Each of these recipes will make 4-5 drinks.

The first big batch recipe is for the Cosmopolitan. Pouring into your bottle, put in 10 oz. of citrus vodka, 4 oz. of Cointreau (or triple sec), 2 oz. of fresh lime juice, 1 oz. of cranberry juice and 5 oz. of water. Water? Yes, water. You're adding in water to compensate for the water that would be added from shaking the drink in a mixing tin and the ice melting while you do that.

Next, a recipe for the classic Sidecar. Pour in 12 oz. of brandy or cognac (cognac is simply higher quality brandy), 3 oz. of Grand Marnier (orange and cognac-flavored), 3 oz. of fresh lemon juice and 6 oz. of water.

And finally, a recipe for the Manhattan. Pour in 12 oz. of whiskey, 4 oz. of sweet vermouth, 5 oz. of water and 1 tsp. of Angostura bitters. For a Rob Roy, just substitute scotch for the whiskey.

That's it for now and remember to please drink responsibly.