How to Batch Cocktails for the Ultimate Party

There are plenty of big batch cocktail recipes we can choose to take our parties to the next level. However, there are other times when a specific cocktail we want doesn’t have a batch recipe. Luckily, we can learn how to batch cocktails for the ultimate party.

Learning how to batch cocktails for parties can help you turn any cocktail recipe into a big batch cocktail recipe. There are plenty of delicious big batch cocktails to choose from for parties.

These recipes do the math for you to turn classic cocktails with an original recipe into enough for everyone. This makes hosting easier; nobody wants to sit behind a bar with a cocktail shaker and some fresh ingredients to make a single cocktail recipe repeatedly.

Instead, filling a punch bowl with your favorite cocktails and allowing others to serve themselves is a great way to enjoy your party. Unfortunately, not every cocktail comes with a pre-batched recipe.

A pre-batched recipe is one that tells you everything you need to know to make a large batch. The question is, what do you do when your favorite drinks don’t have a pre-batch recipe?

The answer is to learn how to batch cocktails for large crowds. Batching, in this case, doesn’t mean making individual drinks repeatedly and dumping them in a pitcher. Instead, you can make pre-batched cocktails with just some math.

​How Far in Advance Can You Batch Cocktails?

Batching cocktails is an excellent way to save time during the party; it’s a good idea. Learning how to batch cocktails on your own can also save you time on the day of the event.

You don’t have to wait until the day of your next party to make every single drink. Instead, make them ahead of time and save your time on the event day to do other prep work, like cooking party food.

The best part is that the delicious cocktails will just need to be put together with citrus drinks on the morning of the party. Unfortunately, citrus juices oxidize, which causes the juice to lose its flavor.

Fresh citrus juice does the same, so it doesn’t matter which juice you use; citrus simply isn’t one of the shelf-stable ingredients. However, we can mix everything else together in large quantities and then chill it until the party.

You will simply need to pour the citrus into the mix, and we’re good to go. This is the best way to organize your time and still get a delicious drink that guests will enjoy. Any cocktails without citrus or that are spirit-forward cocktails can fully be made a day or two in advance.

Just make them, fill a pitcher or two or three, and pop them in the fridge until you need them. You could have a whole batch of two or three different drinks ready to go before you even wake up on party day; no need for bar operators at your event.

Common Pre-Batched Cocktails

Making drinks, especially large-batch recipes, requires planning. That is to be expected with premade cocktail recipes, even if they are easy cocktails to begin with. A batched drink should be planned; this way, you know which ingredients you need to get the job done.

There are a few cocktails that are more popular to batch. They are easy pitcher drinks that work perfectly at dinner parties, happy hour, or just any party where alcohol is present.

The top four prebatched cocktails are Margaritas, sangria, mojitos, and bloody marys. These cocktails come in many different flavors and combinations as well. That variation allows us to spend less and make more of a variety.

Each recipe will be very similar, with only one or two ingredients different. That is an easy way to save money on ingredients for the delicious drinks. They are also easier to serve during party time.

This is why these four drinks are great candidates for your next party; no need to worry about this simple syrup or that one.

How to Serve Large-Batch Cocktails

You may not want to hire a bartender, and you don’t want to become one for the night. Instead, you will need to find a different way of serving up your cocktail ingredients in an easy-to-consume way for guests.

We also don’t want to water things down with ice cubes in the punch bowl; that will ruin the drink’s flavors. The punch bowl, however, will always give us the best results. A punch bowl with a ladle is all you need to turn the large batch cocktails into single serve cocktails.

That’s the good news, but there is some bad news here, especially if you want to take your large batch of cocktails to the next level. Some cocktails are better with salted or sugared rims; others require a garnish to give it that little bit of flavor on the front end.

You will need to set these things out for people to use when they make their individual cocktails. A good idea would be to set out a plate of salt and a plate of sugar, each with a label.

Then, prep and set out any garnishes that may help make things easier for your guests. They can then choose from a variety of rims and garnishes with each drink they make.

You can even put a cocktail shaker out for them to shake their cocktail before pouring if necessary.

How Many Drinks to Make

Learning how to batch cocktails means doing some math, but it all starts with the guest list. You will need to know how many guests you will have at your party. For cocktails, you will need to know how many people will be having a cocktail at your party.

The guest list is done, and you know how many people will be in attendance; now it is time for some math. The equation is simple:

1 drink x hour x guest

​You can safely assume that every guest at your party will drink at least one drink every hour of the event. A four-hour party with 50 people will require at least 200 individual cocktails for that event.

See why large batches are almost required? You can plug any numbers into that equation and get the number of cocktails you will need for the event. You are not done with math just yet.

There is still the need to figure out how much of each ingredient you will need to have enough for all of those cocktails.

How to Batch Cocktails for Parties

The last step of the process is picking the recipe(s) and doing the math so you know how much of each ingredient you will need. There are two ways to go about this now that you have the number of servings you will need.

The quickest and easiest way is to simply multiply the ingredients by the number of cocktails you need. For example, if you need 50 cocktails and the recipe for a single cocktail calls for one ounce of club soda, you will need 50 ounces of club soda.

It’s that simple. Unfortunately, not all cocktail recipes come with exact measurements like that. Instead, some call for parts, like one part tequila to 2 parts orange juice, which means one ounce of tequila for every two ounces of orange juice.

You can scale this up to just about any measurement. Take that same recipe and make it one bottle of tequila. You will take the number of ounces in that bottle and multiply it by two to get the amount of orange juice you will need.

One cup of tequila, two cups of orange juice, or 3 cups of tequila needs 6 cups of orange juice. That is an easy way to make your batch cocktails as long as you can recall how many parts you start with each ingredient.

You will have all of the time you need to turn some of your favorite cocktails into batch cocktails. So long as you get started planning ahead of time.

Cocktail Recipes to Batch

Bourbon Eggnog Recipe | This is one that can be made ahead of time with no problems.

Sunrise Strawberry Mimosa Recipe | Mimosas are perfect for brunch, even better when they are self served so you can enjoy the meal.

Banana Creme Rum and Orange Juice Cocktail | Summer parties just got a whole lot easier. Don’t forget the citrus rule, though.

Pumpkin Spice Martini with Baileys Recipe | Fall dinner parties, Halloween parties, any event during fall is the perfect occasion for this one.

How to Make the Perfect Mojito | You can go wrong with a mojito, especially during the dog days of summer.