Cocktails

Cocktails

Hosting a cocktail party can be challenging, though. It's up to the host to make sure that everyone's comfortable and having a good time, and it's easy to get wrapped up in the idea that things need to be perfect. They don't. We reached out to a number of entertainment and beverage experts for tips on how to make hosting a cocktail party easier, and they all emphasized keeping things simple and focusing on the guests rather than aiming for perfection.

You can revamp your Italian Aperol spritz with a nod to the Mexican paloma cocktail - just add the simple yet tangy ingredients you need for a paloma itself: a touch of grapefruit juice, a bottle of your preferred brand of tequila, some lemon or lime, and a can of club soda. In this scenario, the Aperol - a bittersweet orange aperitif - balances the rest of the ingredients, adding a hint of Italy to the Mexican classic.

We're finally in the time of year when the temperatures are cooling, which means we're wearing our bulkiest sweaters, drinking hot beverages instead of iced, and trying to find other ways to get festive for the upcoming holidays. Well, we have a fun idea for you: Try incorporating the new Little Debbie's Christmas Tree Cake coffee creamer into your next cocktail.

Emporium Arcade Bar San Francisco, the dynamic venue known for its classic arcade games, colorful, fun-loving atmosphere, and renowned drink menu, now offers 8 free game tokens for anyone in "the industry" - so we're assuming barstaff, restaurant staff, nightlife staff. Monday Nights are for the Industry! Every Monday night come join us for some drink specials and if you are part of our industry you get 8 tokens!Featuring Console Encounters! Get to play some retro games on our 50′ HD screen!

Looking for a cocktail that's as beautiful as it is delicious? Enter the White Chocolate Matcha Martinia creamy, indulgent drink with a sophisticated edge. It's sweet, smooth, and just a little earthy thanks to the matcha. Whether you're hosting a dinner party, celebrating a special occasion, or just want to treat yourself, this cocktail is guaranteed to impress. What makes this martini so unique is the balance of flavors.

More than 70 bars and restaurants will feature sotol-based creations throughout the week, from refreshing highballs to smoky stirred sippers. Expect to see Casa Lotos Sotol featured across the city at some of NYC's most notable drinking destinations like , Superbueno Wall Street Hotel Cosme, Toloache and El Fish. Each will riff on the spirit's versatility, from bracingly vegetal martinis to smoky-sweet riffs on classic margs.

The buildup to the craft cocktail revival had been brewing in the decades prior, thanks to bartenders like Dick Bradsell at Fred's Club in London and Dale DeGroff at the Rainbow Room in New York City. But it was that pivotal New Year's Eve in Petraske's tiny Lower East Side speakeasy when the craft cocktail party officially kicked off. Milk & Honey would go on to give us countless modern classics (Gold Rush, Penicillin), and help ignite contemporary cocktail culture as we know it.

But does bottle service have to be so bad? At Nubeluz, chef Jose Andres's sky-high cocktail bar in The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, the bottle service isn't boisterous or brash. Guests are presented with a curated list of vodkas, gins, whiskeys, rums, agave spirits, brandies and spirit-free bottles. Pick a bottle, list off your drink preferences and the bar team will create custom cocktails for you.

The pop-up, which turns places into spooky hangouts with immersive Halloween themed decorations and drinks, is coming to the Melrose Umbrella Club in Beverly Grove, at 7465 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, and the Corner Door, at 12477 Washington Blvd., in Culver City Oct. 1-Nov. 2 and to and The Ordinarie, at 210 The Promenade N. in Long Beach Oct 3-Nov 2.

For decades, cocktail connoisseurs have taken aim at James Bond's most famous order, their objections falling into two camps. First, shaking a martini is seen as a rookie mistake: it clouds the spirit, bruises the botanicals, and leaves you with a drink light on flavor and heavy on regret. Second, why reach for neutral vodka when a martini, being so spirit-forward, was made for the juniper bite of gin? Clearly, they insist, 007 had no idea what he was doing.

We don't know about you, but nothing warms us up on a cold winter's night more than a boozy cocktail. Of course, the obvious spirits usually take the spotlight when cooler months roll around - whiskey, scotch, dark berry liqueurs, and rum among them. Tequila, on the other hand, is often mistaken for a warm-weather-only spirit. Perhaps it's the obvious association tequila has with margaritas, enjoyed while sun-drenched and sitting poolside.

Conley's drink, which he describes as a "soft sour," actually skips the basil. To make it, he infuses black tea into the gin, calls on a Champagne-based syrup and-in lieu of the herb-adds a "pinch" of arugula leaves to the tin that injects a dose of peppery, vegetal flavor to the cocktail. Across the country, other bars make use of the leafy greens, too.

There's something about sweet cinnamon and cloves with the subtle spicy finish of rum or bourbon that's absolutely soul-warming. I love how the booze melds seamlessly into the hot cider, making a smooth sip and a cozy finish. It has just the right balance of spices and alcohol-and it makes your kitchen smell like a fall candle (a nice bonus!).

What makes this drink really stand out is the fact that it's garnished with - what else? - a steak strip. Even if you're not up for a trip to a high-end steakhouse, you can still experience this cocktail at home thanks to developer Julianne De Witt's copycat recipe. As De Witt says of her take on Morton's signature cocktail, "This is a fun, bold, bittersweet cocktail that would be perfect for serving at a dinner party or small get together."

Tiki drinks are all about layering and balance, criteria upon which the potent Fog Cutter delivers in spades - a feat no less impressive because of its signature potency. The Fog Cutter is built on the eyelash-searing foundation of a tri-spirit base (light rum, cognac, and London dry gin). Orgeat syrup enters for some sweet rounding balance, taming the boozy flame.

Mr. Lyan is best known for a string of bars that altered London's cocktail landscape: White Lyan (which opened in 2013 in Shoreditch), Dandelyan (opened in 2014, at what was then the Mondrian hotel on the South Bank, later rebranded to Lyaness), Seed Library in East London, Super Lyan in Amsterdam, and Silver Lyan in Washington D.C. Each is famous for its pairing techniques, focus on sustainability, and flavor experimentations.

This ratio is based on the International Bar Association's classic mimosa recipe, which recommends using 75 ml (approximately 2.54 fluid ounces) of each liquid, resulting in a 5-ounce serving. The key to consistency is to make sure you're actually measuring the juice. If you're serving the cocktail in a 6-ounce glass, the 2.54-ounce juice pour should be just under half of the flute's volume. Next, slowly add your sparkling wine of choice until the glass is nearly full.

We recently ranked classic Italian cocktails, and the Bellini came in dead last, but it wasn't always that way. When it first appeared at Harry's Bar in Venice in the 1940s, the Bellini was light, seasonal, and full of charm - just Veronese white peach purée and prosecco. Simple, but when made with care, it worked. The problem was that it got too popular. Over time, fresh peaches were swapped for syrup, and sparkling wine quality dropped.

A naked martini is a martini made by pouring gin or vodka from a bottle kept in a freezer into a frozen glass with only the suggestion of vermouth.

There's a time and a place for everything, including cocktails. Bars are the best place to catch a buzz, but there is some unspoken etiquette when it comes to ordering. To start, order all at once, say thank you, and never, ever, order a Ramos Gin Fizz. A seasoned bartender can shake up cocktails insanely fast, but speed can only go so far with a packed bar full of thirsty patrons.

Will Thompson isn't terribly impressed with the state of gin these days. When the owner of Sunny's in Miami goes out on the town in search of a Martini, he often faces a bit of a dilemma. "I look at the backbar and there's six gins that I think all taste kinda like shit," he says. He feels there's been a downturn in overall gin quality and proof level.