The holidays are a time for gathering with your loved ones, usually around a meal, and relishing in what’s important: friends and family. The holidays are also a time for drinking—a lot of drinking.
As always, I plan on having a good time this holiday season. Lots of beer, wine and cocktails to go around, but I need it to be easy—streamlined, even.
Though I love drinking them, I absolutely abhor making cocktails during a holiday gathering. There are people everywhere, the dog freaks out when the ice knocks around in the shaker tin, the counter is covered with sticky puddles of sugary liquor and once one drink hits the table, suddenly everybody wants one. What’s supposed to be a relaxing evening instantly turns into war flashbacks to my days behind the bar in a busy restaurant, sans the annoying ticket printer going off.
So, what’s the solution? How can we get drunk in (relative) peace? The answer is simple and once you try it, you’ll never go back. Batched cocktails are the key to unlocking a holiday season that you can actually enjoy.
What Are Batched Cocktails?
Batched cocktails are just that. A cocktail that is “batched” into numerous portions for ease of service. You might be thinking: doesn’t that destroy the quality? Well, not exactly.
For stirred drinks, like Manhattans, Negronis and Martinis, batching really doesn’t make much of a difference at all. These are what’s known as spirit-forward drinks. Because they are made up entirely of alcohol, the quality when pre-batching virtually doesn’t diminish. Of course, there are exceptions. If you are batching a drink that contains vermouth, you might not want to hold it for longer than a few weeks, as you risk the drink oxidizing. But, more often than not, a batched drink is prepared to be enjoyed in the very near future.
Now, what about shaken drinks? Some people will tell you that batching shaken drinks—meaning cocktails that traditionally contain citrus juice, syrups and more—is a losing game, but I disagree. Citrus juice has a relatively short shelf life and will diminish in quality over time, but you can still absolutely enjoy a batched cocktail of this style. Think: Cosmopolitans, Jungle Birds, Sidecars and so on. These types of drinks will usually last a day or two in the fridge, but I recommend waiting to batch them until right before your gathering to ensure the freshest citrus flavor.
There are stipulations to each, but batching is definitely not something to scoff at. Chances are, plenty of your favorite cocktail bars are already batching large portions of their menus to make service just a tad easier. Not always, but the practice is there—I’ve seen it. You know when a cool new bar opens and they have a list of cocktails on tap? What do you think that means? It means they’re batching!
The Secret Ingredient is Water… Seriously
When batching cocktails, dilution is your friend. That’s right, water is the secret ingredient. A proper cocktail becomes diluted by about 18 to 25% after it’s shaken or stirred (shaken drinks are usually at the higher end of this scale).
For example, a Manhattan, which is three ounces of spirit, should equate to almost four ounces once stirred. A shaken drink like a Daiquiri, which I build with 3.75 ounces of ingredients, will end up at almost five ounces once shaken. Contrary to popular belief, shaking and stirring drinks isn’t just to make them cold—it’s also to dilute them and balance out the flavor.
Don’t believe me? Go try a Martini without stirring or shaking it and get back to me. That means with a bit of math and an empty vessel, you can batch nearly any of your favorite cocktails for your next gathering.
If math isn’t your thing, that’s okay. Famous bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler developed a batch cocktail calculator to make it easy. Simply input the ingredients to your favorite cocktail into the calculator and select your output—I go with 750 mL, making it easy to store and serve in empty liquor bottles. Voila, now the math is done for you.
Here are some of the holiday cocktails I’ll be batching this year.
Easy Batched Cocktails for the Holidays
Recommended Equipment for Batching Cocktails
Empty 750 mL bottle or container, funnel, measuring cup, handheld citrus juicer, strainer
Negroni
The humble Negroni is undefeated around the holidays. What is already a fool-proof, equal parts cocktail is made even easier by batching. Simply chill it and pour over ice when serving. Pretty easy, right?
Ingredients
- 200 mL Campari
- 200 mL Punt e Mes Vermouth
- 200 mL Tanqueray Gin
- 140 mL filtered water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in empty bottle or container
- Chill in fridge
- Serve over ice with expressed orange peel
Freezer Door Martini
It doesn’t get much simpler than the timeless Martini and with this freezer door version, you’ll never have to choose between shaken or stirred. It’s as easy to pour as wine, but with double the ABV. That’s a win.
Ingredients
- 440 mL Ford’s Gin
- 150 mL Carpano Dry Vermouth
- 150 mL filtered water
- Optional: 15 dashes of orange bitters
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in empty bottle or container
- Chill in freezer
- Serve in chilled coupe with lemon twist or olives
Bourbon Renewal
This modern classic was created by bartending legend Jeffrey Morgenthaler. The combination of bourbon’s rich flavor with the tartness of lemon and a hit of currant liqueur makes this a total winner year-round. Surprise, it batches quite well too.
Ingredients
- 300 mL Four Roses Bourbon
- 150 mL fresh lemon juice
- 75 mL Creme de Cassis (currant liqueur)
- 75 mL simple syrup
- 150 mL filtered water
- 10 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Directions
- Make simple syrup by dissolving 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water
- Juice lemons using handheld juicer, strain pulp and seeds
- Combine all ingredients in empty bottle or container
- Chill in fridge
- Shake well before serving
- Pour over ice
- Serve with a wedge of lemon
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
