This year, instead of being sad that we can’t be at Mike and Courtney’s for New Year’s, we’re hosting our first New Year’s Eve party. It will involve a lot of games, a lot of food, and a lot of drinks.
When it comes to the drinks, I want to be sure that we have a wide variety of beverages for our guests to choose from, but I also don’t want to go overboard and be left with a ton of mostly-full bottles at the end of the night. I think I’ve finally come up with a list that fits both of those criteria. To find it, I started with a long list of cocktails we could serve at the party, then sorted them by the type of alcohol they use:
VODKA: Moscow Mules, Vodka Collinses, Black Russians, White Russians
RUM: Dark and Stormies, Peppermint Paddies, Grown-Up Cherry Colas
BRANDY: Brandy Slush, Brandy Alexanders, Peppermint Paddies
AMARETTO: Amaretto Sours, Grown-Up Cherry Colas
BOURBON: Old Fashioneds, Hot Toddies, Spiked Cocoas, Chais and Coffees
CRÈMES: White Russians, Black Russians, Grasshoppers, Spiked Cocoas, Chais and Coffees
WHISKEY: Manhattans, Spiked Coffees
GIN: Negronis, Tom Collinses
The least represented alcohols on the menu, gin and whiskey, got the boot. This also means I won’t need to buy sweet vermouth, as I only needed it for the Manhattans and the Negronis. So when we go to the liquor store this week, we’ll just need to get:
Vodka
Rum
Brandy
Bourbon
Kahlua
Irish Cream
Creme de Cacao
Orange Bitters
Angostura Bitters
3-4 bottles of champagne
5-6 bottles of Barolo, Nebbiolo, Barbera or other Italian red wines (to go with the food!)
(We already have plenty of crème de menthe, triple sec and amaretto.)
It looks like a lot, but considering this will be a party of approximately 16 people lasting for 6 hours or more, it is not too bad!
Inspired by Saveur's La La Lola.
Ingredients
- Approximately 2 cups cola
- 1 ounce amaretto
- 2 ounces plain or spiced rum
- 1 maraschino cherry
Instructions
- Pour some of the cola into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer until hard.
- Place two to three cola ice cubes in the bottom of a tumbler. Add the amaretto and rum, then top off with cola. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Make Ahead and Storage
The cola ice cubes can be made up to 5 days in advance.
Yum! I’m having a pre-bar New Years Eve Party (read: 7-10 pm) and am going to make these for sure! What a delicious idea!
Sounds like a good time will be had by all!
Hope you all have a wonderful time. Happy New Years!