Post # 1
Member
394 posts
Helper bee
I am having a church wedding and outdoor reception in my parents backyard the end of next June. It will be in the midwest so the weather will be mild-hot, you just never know.
I plan on providing my own alcohol and not hiring a bartender. The idea was to have several options of beer and bottled fruity drinks like Mike’s Hard plus 2 or 3 pre-mixed cocktails out of a self-serve container. Though I love wine I thought it would be too much to have all three for a 100 person wedding, plus most of our families won’t be snobby about there being no wine available.
Has anybody done something or seen something like this before? What types of cocktails work best to make before hand so we can refill easily?
I was also thinking of setting up the cocktail dispensers on a table with a few garnishes like mint leaves, cherries, etc., so people can spruce up their drink however they please. If you have done this before, seen it, or even have pictures I’d love some advice!
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This topic was modified 4 years ago by adomke.
Post # 4
Member
508 posts
Busy bee
adomke: I’d get a few of those large glass dispensers with tap and stand. I have one and we bring it out ever time we have a girls night or a party and fill it with white sangria. My recipe is:
Equal parts sweet champagne / sparkling wine and lemonade, 2 nips of Cointreau per bottle of lemonade, 1 nip of lychee liqueur per bottle of lemonade, and top with chopped apples and orange ring slices. And ice. It always goes down a treat! Very refreshing.
Post # 5
Member
16 posts
Newbee
What fun! Some easy to make and crowd pleasing cocktail ideas include:
Blueberry Lemonade: So easy! Just mix Stoli Blueberry (or another blueberry flavored vodka) with lemonade. Garnish with blueberries, or any berry really. Could also substitute raspberry vodka for the blueberry bodka.
Spiked Arnold Palmer: Also very easy. Mix a tea flavored vodka, like Teaka or Firefly, with lemonade. Very refreshing.
Red Sangria: This is a huge hit. The recipe is below. I’ve done this one in a medium sized glass beverage dispenser. This one does go down beautifully while being pretty potent.
- 1 bottle (750ml) Shiraz
- 4 oz Raspberry Vodka
- 4 oz Bacardi Limon
- 4 oz Peach Schnapps
- 16 oz Lemonade
- 32 oz Sprite
- Float citrus slices for effect
Post # 5
Member
2435 posts
Buzzing bee
I’ve always liked the idea of a lemonade bar. Get the dispensers with different lemonades/teas and then get different flavored alcohol to add (might be hard without a bartender), and different things like berries, mint, basil, lemons, cucumber to add to their lemonade.
Post # 7
Hostess
8576 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
I don’t know if you’ve figured this out yet, but your thread reminded me of 2 of the signature drinks we are having, but would work perfectly for your DIY cocktail hour.
We made strawberry skittle vodka, and lemon skittle vodka. With them we will be making hard strawberry lemonade and hard lemon iced tea.
We aren’t using them for spiked drinks, but we were able to pick up 5 liter mason jar drink dispensers for around $9 each.. we bought 17″ wide crates from joann’s fabrics [we just bought them last night] and they were on sale for $5.99. We will put the dispensers on the crates so it’s easier to dispense.
Post # 7
Member
9916 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
If you’re doing sweet mixed drinks, you don’t need that Smirnoff ice stuff.
Post # 8
Member
1251 posts
Bumble bee
I agree with peachacid:
Also, I agree with the PP about using the glass dispensers. Try to find one where there’s an ice core, so you can keep the drinks cold and not worry about it getting watered down. Maybe something similar to the one below?
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