You may remember I was planning two consecutive cocktail parties two weeks apart featuring all alcohol-free and dealcoholized beers, wine, and spirits. Everything except the Athletic brand beers, which we bought at Wal Mart, was ordered online. The spirits were from two companies: Ritual and Zero Proof. The wines were from Noughty and Ish (both fun little plays on words). I had to order Heineken alcohol free beer online also as it was unavailable locally and that made it unnecessarily expensive IMO.
Both parties were a great success; the first was a group of our ” regular” friends from church, town, tennis, golf, local theater, etc. I set up four different stations for beer, wine, margaritas, and other mixed drinks. My nephew was visiting us for the first party and has had experience bartending, so he made many different drinks for people reluctant to try mixing their own. Apparently very few people can mix anything other than ”their” drink and people were slow to try different things. Nephew, DS2 (also visiting for the weekend), our wonderful party helper from the club restaurant and I mixed up different drinks and poured a little into tiny plastic shot glasses and took them around on trays for people to try. We served different kinds of margaritas,including ones made with the regular bottled mix and with differently flavored Bartesian margarita mixes also. We made old fashioneds, Negronis, and ”regular” gin and tonics, rum and coke, etc. Our second party was a smaller group of people just from our neighborhood (my street is it’s own ”pod,” or phase of development). We have a few people who do not drink for health reasons and a Mormon neighbor who doesn’t drink for religious reasons, and they were delighted to come to such an event.
To date there is no alcohol free Scotch or Vodka; so we served (alcohol-free versions of) gin, rum, bourbon , tequila, vermouth and campari. In addition we served several shrubs, which are fruit-infused simple syrups (made with sugar, honey, agave, etc) mixed with vinegar (fruit vinegars, balsamics, champagne orother wine vinegars, etc). I purchased from 1821 in Atlanta a blood orange and ginger shrub and an apple cardamom variety, and on my own made batches of pineapple/ginger/cardamom and peach/vanilla/nutmeg shrubs. We also had on hand wonderful mixers from Withco, one called Ellis Old Fashioned (simple syrup infused with citrus and spice) and another called Bouquet (lavender, rose and other botanicals) that were quite popular. We also had the range of club soda, tonic waters (regular and diet for the diabetics), ginger ales and other sodas.
Overall the Lavender Margaritas my nephew made were in high demand at the first party and we almost ran out of tequila. I’m not exactly sure how he made them but he was doing a brisk business shaking and pouring at the margarita station. The next most popular drink was a sparkling white wine from Ish mixed with Ellis Old Fahioned Mixer and tonic water. This drew high praise from everyone and I am planning to use it as a signature drink at our next party. Of the wines, the reds were abysmal but the Ish Chardonnay was drinkable, especially with a meal. The sparkling whites and rosés were not really good enough as a standalone but surprisingly good as a base for a cocktail. The surprise hit was a Negroni-ish cocktail I devised with gin, vermouth, campari and a decent splash of tonic with a squeeze of orange. One bourbon drinker mixed his bouron with the blood orange and ginger shrub and was very pleased with it. We also had a very good reception of the rum and apple cardamom shrub with a splash of soda. The beer drinkers were not vocal about the beers they drank so I assume they were not much enjoyed, although I have it on very good authority that the no alcohol Heineken tastes exactly like the regular type. I wondered if our particular beer drinkers were missing the reason they drink it. Several people commented that it was odd to drink without ”feeling” it and that it was a new experience they welcomed. No one disavowed alcohol as a result of the parties and of course that was not the reason for having them, but everyone had a great time and there was no concern about anyone getting home safely.
On the food front, the standout item was the zuccini blossoms stuffed with marscapone and herbs, battered and fried, from the club’s appetizer menu. Our party helper (one of the club waitresses) came directly from her shift and brought the food with her piping hot and crispy. We kept them in a warm oven and Lisa put them on a platter as everyone arrived. They were a huge hit! I did an antipasto tray, baked brie with blackberry jam and toasted walnuts with crostini, a few other cheeses and crackers, a veggie tray (blanched green beans, cherry tomatoes and celery) with homemade ranch dip, and fruit skewers. I also had coffee service set up in the dining room with small finger desserts (pecan bars, brownies, salted caramel brownies, lemon bars and raspberry bars) from my favorite caterer in town; she’s been making those for decades and everybody loves them. The weather was lovely for both parties, the 2/28 one a bit cooler and the one last night warmer but windier. We were able to use the screened porch for both events and at the first were able to enjoy a spectacular sunset from the porch and windows all across the back of the house.
I love to entertain and even though it seems people are having fewer parties they still like being invited to them!
11 months ago
Kswl thanked legomom23
Ally De