Bartenders often pre-mix cocktails to prepare for larger groups. It’s a technique known as “batching,” and it’s a trick that can help make your next summer soirée a breeze.
“I love having dinner parties, that’s my favorite thing to do,” says Maggie Hoffman, author of Batch Cocktails (Ten Speed Press), released in March. “But I just really don’t want to be stressed out when I have people over. Anything you can do to create a calm moment makes for a better evening.”
Hoffman has a point, whether or not entertaining stresses you out: Why get stuck fiddling with jiggers and shakers in a poor imitation of Tom Cruise’s character in Cocktail if you don’t have to? Batched cocktails allow you to focus on your guests instead of the preparation of their drinks.
The following recipes from bartenders across the country showcase festive flavors and summer-ready spirits. With their instructions, all you’ll need to do is set out a pitcher or punchbowl, and add ice and/or effervescence to your creations right before you serve them.
Like the saying goes, work smarter, not harder.
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Big Batch Vodka Cocktails
Big Batch Rum Cocktails
Big Batch Whiskey Cocktails
Big Batch Tequila and Mezcal Cocktails
Vodka Strawberry Cooler
Courtesy Michael Neff, bar director, The Cottonmouth Club, Houston
Strawberries and sparkling wine are a classic combination. Here, vodka and lemon juice provide a bracing, bright background to yield something just right for a casual daytime event, especially one that might linger until the sun goes down.
Femme Fatale
Courtesy Matt Corbin, spirits director, 7908 Aspen, Aspen, CO
Cucumber juice and zingy lemongrass combine in this refreshing vodka sipper. To make cucumber juice with a blender, purée about 2¾ cups cubed cucumber until smooth, then strain through a fine mesh strainer.
- 1⅔ cups fresh lemon juice
- 1⅔ cups simple syrup
- 2 cups strawberries, destemmed
- 750 ml vodka
- 20 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- 750 ml dry sparkling wine, to top
- Lemon wheels, for garnish
Up to 2 hours prior, combine lemon juice, simple syrup and strawberries in blender, and purée until cohesive. Add vodka and bitters, and store in refrigerator.
To serve, stir well, and pour into punchbowl over large ice cubes. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon wheels. Serves 15–20.
- 6 cups vodka
- 4 cups lime juice
- 3 cups lemongrass-infused simple syrup
- 2 cups cucumber juice (recipe above)
- Cucumber slices, for garnish
- Basil leaves, for garnish
Up to 2 hours prior, combine all ingredients except garnish with 2 cups water. Store in refrigerator.
To serve, stir mixture. Pour into punchbowl over large ice block. Insert basil leaves into cucumber slices, and float atop mixture with leaves upright. Serves 15–20.
Caribbean Carousel
Courtesy Westin Galleymore, spirits director, UB Preserv, Houston
UB Preserv has featured tiki bowls since it opened in May 2018, and this punch is perfect for even larger quantities. Galleymore describes the flavor as “funky, friendly and slightly bitter,” the former largely due to the grassy, heady rhum agricole.
Front Porch Daiquiri
Courtesy Naomi Levy, beverage director, Better Sorts Social Club at the Kimpton Nine Zero Hotel, Boston
This cocktail features the makings of a classic Daiquiri: rum, lime and sugar. However, the addition of iced tea and mint transforms it into a relaxed affair that’s as easy to make as it is to sip. It’s just the ticket for the dog days of summer.
- 3 cups Aperol
- 2½ cups grapefruit juice
- 2 cups Neisson Rhum Agricole Blanc
- 1 cup simple syrup
- ½ cup Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
- Soda water, to top (optional)
Up to 2 hours prior, combine all ingredients except soda water. Store in refrigerator.
To serve, pour mixture into large punchbowl with 4 cups ice. Ladle 3 ounces into glass or tiki mug over fresh ice. Top with soda water, if desired. Serves 20.
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened iced tea
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups white rum
- ¾ cup fresh lime juice
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
- Lime wheels, for garnish
In small saucepan, combine iced tea with sugar until fully dissolved. Cool, then refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours prior, combine all ingredients except garnish in pitcher with 1¼ cups water. Store in refrigerator.
To serve, add ice to pitcher. Garnish with mint leaves and lime wheels. Serves 6–8.
From Here to Eternity
Courtesy Nicky Beyries, bar manager, Foreign Cinema and Laszlo Bar, San Francisco
Beyries recommends San Francisco purveyor Small Hand Foods’ Passion Fruit Syrup for this drink, but “if someone is going to make [passion fruit syrup] on their own, they need to be sure it is rather tart, rather than sweet.”
American in Rome
Courtesy Leo Robitschek, bar director, NoMad Bar, Las Vegas
This is a streamlined version of one of the NoMad Bar’s cheeky, over-the-top concoctions, or “cocktail explosions.” The recipe features Foro Amaro, a collaboration between Robitschek and Joe Magliocco of Michter’s Distillery, which has a citrus and burnt sugar profile. If you can’t find it, substitute with Amaro Montenegro.
- 1¾ cups rye whiskey
- 10 dashes Angostura Bitters
- 1 cup Small Hand Foods Passion Fruit Syrup
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 4 ounces lime juice
- Pinch of Maldon salt, or other fine-flake sea salt
- Lemon wheels, for garnish
- Mint sprigs, for garnish
- Brut sparkling wine, to top
Up to 2 hours prior, combine all ingredients except garnishes and sparkling wine. Store in refrigerator.
To serve, place large mold or block of ice in punchbowl, then add mixture. Garnish with lemon wheels and mint sprigs. As you serve, top each glass with splash of dry sparkling wine. Serves 6–8.
- 8 orange slices, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup simple syrup
- ¾ ounce lemon juice
- 1 cup Foro Amaro
- 1 cup Michter’s US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Mint sprigs, for garnish
In large spouted jar or pitcher, muddle 8 orange slices with simple syrup and lemon juice. Add amaro and Bourbon, and stir to combine. Add ice, and float additional orange slices and mint sprigs atop. Serve in rocks glasses or punch cups. Serves 4–8.
Friendly Fires Punch
Courtesy Shannon Tebay Sidle, bartender, Death & Co, New York City
This drink appears in Batch Cocktails, by Maggie Hoffman, who says the fruity, savory concoction captures “that barbecue you dream of all winter long.” To make watermelon juice in a blender, purée about 2¼ cups cubed seedless watermelon until smooth, and strain through a fine-mesh strainer.
La Columba
Courtesy Jose Luis Betancur, sommelier, wine & beverage manager, Tuscan Kitchen, Boston
Loosely modeled on the classic Paloma, this bubbly sipper adds sage’s herbaceous notes. For those who seek an interesting nonalcoholic beverage, mix the sage simple syrup into grapefruit soda with a squeeze of lime.
- 1½ cups mezcal, like Del Maguey Vida Mezcal (or Tequila)
- ½ cup chile vodka, preferably St. George or homemade (recipe below)
- ¼ cup Green Chartreuse
- ½ cup simple syrup
- 1½ cups fresh watermelon juice
- ¾ cup fresh lime juice
- 8 lime wheels, for garnish
Up to 1 week prior, combine mezcal (or Tequila), vodka, Green Chartreuse and simple syrup in 2 quart pitcher. Stir, then store in refrigerator.
Up to 2 hours prior, prepare watermelon and lime juices, and add to mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, stir mixture. Add lime wheels, fill pitcher with ice, and stir until pitcher cools. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses. Serves 8.
To make chile vodka, combine 6 thin slices jalapeño and ⅔ cup vodka in mason jar. Let sit 4 minutes, then taste. Let sit longer, if desired, until mixture reaches preferred spice level. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer. Sealed and stored in cool, dark place, vodka will keep for several months.
- 1½ cups silver Tequila
- 1 cup lime juice
- 1 cup sage-infused simple syrup
- ½ cup grapefruit juice
- Grapefruit soda, to top
- Sage leaves, for garnish
Up to 2 hours prior, combine first four ingredients in pitcher. Stir, then refrigerate.
To serve, stir mixture well. Fill pitcher with ice, then stir again gently until pitcher cools. Pour into 8 ice-filled rocks glasses, then top each glass with soda and garnish with a sage leaf. Serves 8.
1Big Batch Vodka Cocktails
2Big Batch Rum Cocktails
3Big Batch Whiskey Cocktails
4Big Batch Tequila and Mezcal Cocktails
Kara Newman reviews spirits and writes about spirits and cocktail trends for Wine Enthusiast. She’s the author of several cocktail books, including Shake.Stir.Sip., NIGHTCAP: More than 40 Cocktails to Close Out Any Evening and Cocktails With a Twist, released August 2019. Email: spirits@wineenthusiast.net
