Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion

by Maggie Hoffman

Overview

A hip, accessible guide to batch cocktail-making for entertaining, with 65 recipes that can be made hours—or weeks!—ahead of time so that hosts and hostesses have one less thing to worry about as the doorbell rings.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED

As anyone who has hosted a dinner party knows, cocktail hour is the most fun part of the evening for guests—but the most stressful for whomever is in charge of keeping the drinks flowing. The solution, though, is simple: batch it! In this fun collection, Maggie Hoffman offers 65 delicious and creative cocktails that you don't have to stir or shake to order; rather, they are designed to stay fresh when made ahead and served out of a pitcher. Recipes such as Tongue in Cheek (gin, Meyer lemon, thyme, Cocchi Rosa), Friendly Fires (mezcal, chile vodka, watermelon, lime), Birds & Bees Punch (rum, cucumber, green tea, lemon), and even alcohol-free options are organized by flavor profile—herbal, boozy, bitter, fruity and tart, and so on—to make choosing and whipping up a perfect pitcher of cocktails a total breeze.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399582530
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	264,155
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Maggie Hoffman is the author of The One-Bottle Cocktail. She writes about cocktails, wine, and beer for the James Beard Award-winning website Serious Eats, where she founded the drinks section in 2011 and served as managing editor. Hoffman has written for Wine Enthusiast, the San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco magazine, as well as the websites of Saveur, Food & Wine, and others. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, daughter, and more than a few bottles of booze.

Read an Excerpt

If you’ve picked up this book, I think you’ll agree with me that cocktails are lovely. But over the many years that I’ve spent writing about drinks, I’ve learned that more than anything, it’s really the cocktail hour that matters. When you get a drink in someone’s hand and fill your own glass, you’ve arrived at a crucial, beautiful moment. You’ve set aside your work; your miles-long to-do list is on mute. There may be snacks, dinner will be served somewhere down the line, but for now, you can pause for a sip and a breath; it’s a time to catch up.

But as anyone who has hosted a cocktail hour knows, there’s nothing worse than scrambling at the last minute, trying to mix drinks as your guests walk through the door. It’s hard to hold a conversation while searching for lost bitters, knocking over the jigger on the counter, and rattling a shaker full of ice (let alone trying to get the damn thing open). And without fail, just when you’re finally about to sit down, your friends are ready for a second round.

This is why I’ve gathered together recipes of make-ahead drinks created by some of my favorite bartenders around the country: to set up that moment of calm. With this book in hand, you can make a bunch of cocktails all at once, in advance, and serve them without breaking   a sweat. Most of these recipes yield eight or ten servings, but it’s easy to scale up or down depending on how many people you’re expecting. I’ll share the techniques and proportions you need to make cocktails that are every bit as delicious as what you’d find in a fancy bar—drinks that are way more sophisticated than the spiked lemonades and sherbet punches of your past, yet totally easy to execute.

I hope you’ll use these recipes as an excuse to invite friends over,
even if your house is messy, even if you don’t have enough chairs. Don’t fret over serving a perfect multicourse meal—order pizza. The drinks are made. They’re ready to pour. You’re not rushing around fussing and jiggering and shaking, being the frenzied “perfect” host. There’s nowhere else you need to be but with your people, sharing a glass or two.
Maybe reclaiming a relaxing cocktail hour won’t save the world, but looking away from our phones for a minute to reconnect with actual human beings over a drink may very well save us from isolation.

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/18/2019

Hoffman (The One-Bottle Cocktail), founder of the Serious Eats: Drinks website, delivers a useful collection of big-batch libations from bartenders around the country. “There’s nothing worse than scrambling at the last minute, trying to make drinks as your guests walk in the door,” Hoffman writes, and solves that problem by offering 65 creative cocktails (along with alcohol-free options) that can be made in large quantities­—most offer 8–12 servings per recipe—before the party starts, enabling hosts to quickly serve their guests. Once readers have selected their preferred genre (herbal and floral, boozy, bitter, etc.), they can choose from a handful of drinks that fit that flavor profile. Some cocktails, like the boozy Bone Machine, call for a number of brand-specific ingredients (Oloroso sherry, Benedictine, and Amaro Nonino), but they’re outnumbered by simple, more forgiving concoctions like a bitter Perfect Circle (sherry, Campari, and sparkling wine), or the floral Poolside (Grand Marnier, lemon juice, mint, and tonic). Tips on balancing flavors on a large scale and storage of mixes and leftovers make the book as practical as it is thirst-quenching. Weekend entertainers and professional bartenders alike will benefit from this book; it’s an outstanding collection for all tastes and occasions. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Weekend entertainers and professional bartenders alike will benefit from this book; it’s an outstanding collection for all tastes and occasions.”
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“After years of writing about drinks and mixing them herself, Maggie Hoffman’s shared tips, tricks and recipes from trendsetting bartenders all over the country in this beautifully-photographed handbook for hosts. Maggie’s done the math, so pick a recipe by flavor profile or occasion and follow her insightful directions to scale it up into a batch, so you can sit down and savor your handiwork once the cocktail hour commences.”
— JIM MEEHAN, author of Meehan’s Bartender Manual and The PDT Cocktail Book 
 
“There is nothing more relaxing than having a drink among friends, especially when everyone is sipping the same thing—the shared experience of trying something new is a great conversation starter. This beautiful collection of recipes has me itching to throw a party just for an excuse to make a few pitchers full."
– STELLA PARKS, James Beard award-winning author of Bravetart
 
“As Trader Vic himself once said, 'Spend time with your guests—not making mixed drinks.' In her new book, Maggie gives you dozens of delicious ways to free yourself from behind the bar and become the host with the most! With these recipes and techniques at your disposal, you’ll soon find yourself famous for both your charming fêtes AND witty banter!"
– MARTIN CATE, James Beard Award-winning author and owner of Smuggler’s Cove San Francisco.

Praise for The One-Bottle Cocktail:
"It’s a book that will at once simplify your entertaining while simultaneously making it so much more rewarding.”
- J. Kenji López-Alt, author of The Food Lab 

"Consult this booze bible for easy new twists on classic summer cocktails." 
- Cosmopolitan

“These recipes bring two of my favorite food trends into the world of drinking: simplicity and seasonality. If I want a drink that requires twelve obscure spirits, I’ll order it at a bar. This book is coming with me to the farmers’ market.” 
- Ari Shapiro, host of NPR’s All Things Considered 

"This is the kind of book that every home cocktail-maker should keep on their shelf." 
- Niki Achitoff-Gray, Serious Eats

"These inexpensive, easy recipes will make cocktail drinkers out of the non-believers." 
- Epicurious

"These are professional-grade tricks that can help even the most entry-level home bartender put a culinary cocktail in everyone’s hand.” 
- Jeffrey Morgenthaler, author of The Bar Book 

From the Publisher