Tuesday, April 22, 2008 9:50 PM
How much & what kind of alcohol should I serve at a dinner party?
To answer a question with a question: what kind of drinkers are your guests? Moderate or light? Wine or beer or cocktails? No one expects you to have a fully-stocked, open bar, and it's easier on the budget if you tailor the drink menu to what you have in your bar, what your guests like, and what’s for dinner.
If you’re talking traditional dinner party service with moderate drinkers, the typical formula is to serve two beverages per person—mixed drinks or wine—during the cocktail hour, two glasses of wine with dinner, and one after-dinner drink. That’s a total of five drinks per person, which may sound like a lot. Or not, if your guests like their booze. (Remember: The number of drinks per person changes if you’re serving lighter drinkers, or if you’re skipping the cocktail hour or after-dinner drinks.)
I am fully in the “better to have too much than too little” department because, let’s be real, the leftovers won’t go to waste in my house. Always buy slightly more—one or two extra bottles of wine, at least—than you think you’ll need.
* One standard bottle of wine pours five (5 oz.) servings. (Before the dinner party, measure five ounces of water in your wine glasses to see where the pour line is.)
* One standard bottle of liquor pours 16 (1.5 oz.) cocktails or mixed drinks. (Use a jigger to measure out booze to keep quantities in check.)
The type of alcohol you serve depends on few factors, including 1) what you have in your bar, 2) what’s for dinner, and 3) what you feel like serving. If budget or bartending skills are an issue, serve one classic or specialty cocktail—a martini or your famous sangria—instead of fussing with lots of different alcohol and making multiple types of drinks for the cocktail hour.
For dinner, buy a few bottles of a wine that pairs with the main dish—a local wine seller can help you make a good single pairing—or buy a mix of reds and whites if you know some guests drink only one or the other. Check out a few of my favorite inexpensive wine picks.
After-dinner drinks are typically sweeter liqueurs or heavy spirits—think: whiskey, port, brandy, Cognac, sherry or a sweet dessert wine like Sauternes or late-harvest Gewurztraminer.
(Big thanks to WC branny--great question!)
Now, here's a question for you: If a dinner guest brings a great bottle of wine over as a gift, do you a) automatically pop it open and serve with dinner, b) save the good stuff for you and DH, c) ask the guest "Do you want to open this for dinner"?, or d) none of the above.