Okay, what is your real concern? Feed the folks, right? When it comes to a cocktail party this is only limited to serving the hors d’oeuvres. You can make that as easy or as complicated if you want. One of the major advantages of a cocktail party is that it is, when it comes to the menu it can be real fun! There is no main meal but all kinds of finger foods. Therefore, you can set out a selection of items. Try some experiments but take care that you have plenty of conventional and “safe” food left to satisfy your guests. The first goal you should have is to offer a variety of food. Plan some different meats and do not forget the seafood, plan to serve finger foods, canapés and even think of some hot and cold dishes. If you want to serve candy or mints, you just should wait until about the end of the party before you serve that. For your guests that is a signal that the party is about to end. (Though I am sure, your guests are going to linger because they are enjoying themselves; now you see how much confidence I have in you!).
The question remains; how do you determine how much food is needed? Use this simple guideline; provide your guests with six bites per person, per hours in case of a two-hour party.
I see you ask yourself, looking at those dips, what is a bite for Pete’s sake? Well for the dips and cheeses you are serving, you can normally say that once ounce is “one bite”. So, let us see, if you are hosting a cocktail party for 10 people and it is scheduled for two hours, you have to serve about 120 hors d’oeuvres.
How much alcohol should I buy?
This is another important issue on party planning. An issue that even puzzles the most experienced host among us. It is good that there are some very useful guidelines, which you can use to help you determine the right quantity.
At first, you have to look at the time of the day on which the party is held. For example a cocktail party that is held in the evening hours, let us say between 5 and 6 pm, requires more alcohol than a party held in early afternoon. The second important thing is that you inventory the type of alcohol the guests will drink. When the party involves a group of more or less experienced wine experts, you have to point up the wine. When your friends are passionate beer drinkers, you have to stock up more beer. Besides that, you always have to have a little bit of each category for varying tastes and for those of the guests who decide to try something different for a change.
Calculating the amount
Calculating the amount of liquor has to be done with some kind of mathematic calculation and formulas. How do you calculate this? Well, imagine that your guests consume two drinks in the first hour of your party, every following hour they take one.
Now when we go back to our 10-person, two hour cocktail party, you see that we need 20 drinks for the first hour (2 drinks for 10 guests) plus another 10 for the second hour. For two hours, we need also 30 drinks. Now I see you wondering, what if my aunt Betsy shows up, she drinks more wine, than an average marathon runner drinks water during the marathon. Well don’t panic, look at your other guest and see Twiggy, she can do with one drink for hours and does not get her glass empty even if she wants to. Always count with the average! However if you still are worried, just take another close look on your guest list. If you feel that this amount still is not enough, just keep some alcohol on hand in case that…. Keep in mind that this party is meant to walk and talk around, coma drinking is not the purpose; your guests should know that.
I already hear you ask, how many drinks do I get out of a bottle of scotch, wine or schnapps? Therefore, I made the following chart, a chart that covers the most important categories of drink. Now you can estimate your needs.
Not sure, what type of alcohol to serve?
No need to be shy, just wait for the opportunity to ask your guests in advance about their favorite drinks. If you do so, you will not get surprised a lot on the day of the party.
When you host a brunch or luncheon, normally spoken light wines, bubbling wines, fruit flavored drinks and champagne are the perfect drinks to come with that. You can a larger variety on drinks when the party is later in the day, for example in the early evening.
Is the thought of mixed drinks already making you sick? Well it should not. Drinking a lot of them could be causing some sickness but certainly making them should not cause any problems. If you are not too sure about yourself, look around and ask one of your colleagues or friends who are great in mixing. That doesn’t work out either? Well you can always hire a professional bartender that does not cost as much as it sounds to you.