101
parties
SHOP
EAT
DRINK
TRAVEL
your go-to guide for a good time
stock the ultimate bar BY REBECCA KLEIN
PARTY
| PHOTOGR APHY BY CHARLES MASTERS
Quantity Con Plan on 1½ trol drinks
per hour, per person . For 10 gu ests, that means bottles each three 750ml of and bourbon vodka, rum , an six-packs of d five soda.
don’t forget the ice!
w web
PROP ST YLING BY R ACHEL HA AS.
WHAT YOU NEED the essential liquors
Premade mixers are expensive and contain lesser-quality ingredients. Save your money (and your taste buds) by stocking fresh ingredients when possible.
Commercial bars usually have nine alcohol choices—we like a cocktail, but come on! We’ve narrowed it down to the top four.
rachaelraymag.com
PA.indd 1
WHAT YOU DON’T
the essential mixers
• Orange juice • Cranberry juice • Soda • Tonic OPTIONAL: pineapple juice, tomato juice, grenadine
Make the most of your stocked bar! Find cocktail how-tos (plus tasty snacks) at rachaelraymag.com/april.
• Vodka • Gin • Rum • Whiskey (we’re partial to bourbon) OPTIONAL: tequila, vermouth
Don’t go broke buying every type of alcohol. It’s actually trendy to serve one or two signature drinks, plus wine and beer. So put a spin on a classic (check out our ideas on the next page) and spend the extra cash on a new party outfit. Forget washing a million glasses. If your party is especially casual—or especially large—just pick up sturdy, recyclable plastic cups. Mingling is more important than tending to mounds of dishes. No need to buy fancy wine. If there’s a cheap brandStock that you like, then up on romantic serve it in a carafe—no one will be the wiser. recipes, party ideas, and e-cards for you and your Playing bartender is overrated. Let guests serve themselves at a laid-back sweetie at rachaelraymag gathering, and hire a bartender (or a bartending-school student) for .com/february a swankier party.
DAY WITH RACHAEL RAY
115
2/11/09 7:43:49 PM
101
parties101
If the tool’s not here, it’s not worth your time.
shaker
garnishes
RECIPES: JOHN’S GREEN MAR-TEA-NI BY R ACHAEL R AY; MOSCOW MULE BY JENNIFER ROSEN; BOURBON OLD -FASHIONED BY VICTORIA SPENCER. RECIPE PHOTOS, LEFT TO RIGHT: JIM FR ANCO, JOHN KERNICK; QUENTIN BACON.
Lemon and lime slices, olives and mint sprigs.
116
PA_rv2.indd 2
muddler
The cobbler shaker—a threepiece number with built-in strainer—will do.
This is for crushing ingredients, like the mint in mojitos.
martini glasses
jigger
mixing glass Get one with measured lines.
Measure just the right amount of liquor.
highball glasses Use for most cocktails and sodas.
Since they’re only big enough to hold a little liquid, each sip stays as cold as it should be.
oldfashioneds (or “rocks glasses”)
wine glasses Their shape lets wine aerate, so you can breathe in the aroma before sipping. They can also do double duty for frozen drinks.
Pair with drinks ordered “on the rocks.” Their short, wide design leaves plenty of room for ice.
bottle opener Don’t you have like four of these anyway?
Bartender Trick! Don’t have a jig
cocktail napkins The more colorful, the better.
THE THREE DRINKS YOU MUST KNOW You can definitely call yourself a bartender if you master three crowd-friendly drink recipes. At your next party, shake things up with these clever cocktails.
ger? While pouring a sh ot of liquo “Bubble W A-wa WA-w r, think: a WA-wa.” “Bubble” is for comes out the air bubble that of the bottle the liquor, and each “w before length of a a” is the quarter-oun ce pour— giving you one and a h alf ounces, or one shot.
GIN
VODKA
BOURBON
John’s green mar-tea-ni
moscow mule
bourbon old-fashioned
In a glass, mix 1 teaspoon each sugar and water. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cold green tea, ¼ cup gin and the sugar syrup; shake. Serve in a chilled martini glass with a mint sprig.
Fill a chilled glass with crushed ice, add ¼ cup vodka and 2 tablespoons lime juice and stir. Top with ¹⁄³ cup ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge.
In a rocks glass or other small glass, mix 1 teaspoon sugar, a dash of Angostura bitters and a splash of water. Stir in ¼ cup bourbon and fill with ice cubes. Garnish with a lemon twist.
BARTENDING TIPS CONTRIBUTED BY: Cheryl Charming, mixologist and co-author of Knack Bartending Basics: More than 400 Classic and Contemporary Cocktails for Any Occasion • Lizzie Post, spokesperson for The Emily Post Institute and author of How Do You Work This Life Thing? • Lara Shriftman, co-author of Party Confidential: New Etiquette for Fabulous Entertaining and Fête Accompli!
DAY WITH RACHAEL RAY
rachaelraymag.com
2/11/09 7:48:24 PM