How do I set up drinks for a party so I am not stuck serving?

Hosts end up serving drinks all evening because the setup requires them to. A station where guests can help themselves, with one batched option and clear labelling, removes that entirely.

What you'll need

• A table or surface
• Ice and a cool box
• Jugs (optional)
• Glassware (optional)

Step by step

1. Set up a station away from the kitchen.Everything on one table with glasses, ice, mixers and openers. If people have to come to you, you are serving all evening.
2. Batch one drink in a jug.A pre-mixed cocktail or a punch means people can pour something interesting without any skill. Add sparkling elements at serving rather than in advance.
3. Buy far more ice than you think.It is the thing that runs out first at every event, without exception. A cool box keeps it frozen and keeps the freezer usable.
4. Plan quantities generously.Roughly two drinks per person for the first hour and one per hour after. Non-alcoholic drinks at the same rate — people drink at least as much of them.
5. Provide a genuinely good non-alcoholic option.Batched and in the same glassware. It is what lets people who are driving or not drinking participate normally.
6. Label things clearly.Particularly what contains alcohol and what does not. It removes an awkward question and prevents mistakes.
7. Set out water prominently.A jug or bottles with glasses, in an obvious place. It gets used far more when it is visible and it makes for a better evening.
8. Put a bin and a place for empties next to the station.Otherwise glasses and bottles spread through the house and the clearing up is considerably worse.

Tips

• Chill everything in advance. Warm drinks over ice melt it instantly, and the ice supply is the constraint.
• A bathtub or a large box with ice takes far more bottles than a fridge and keeps them properly cold.
• Fewer options served well beats a full bar. One good batched cocktail, beer, wine and a good non-alcoholic option covers almost everyone.

Common mistakes

• Underestimating ice — It is the first thing to run out at every event, and warm drinks poured over it accelerate the problem. Buy several times what seems necessary.
• Keeping the drinks in the kitchen — Guests come to you for everything and you spend the evening serving. A station elsewhere makes it self-service.
• Providing only one soft drink — Non-drinkers and drivers drink at least as much as anyone else. A single bottle of something soft is not enough.

Questions people ask