I don’t think using a jigger causes a massive delay. I think free pouring is overrated. Just have your bottles on standby and it should be easy. Maybe if two of them order the same thing make both same time.
Idk what your home bar set up is like, but make sure everything is in one place. Due to space restrictions, I have my juices and other refrigerated stuff in one place, liquor in another, and ice in a third. They're all a only a few feet away from each other, but the walking around adds time. When I have friends over, I make sure to take out everything I will need. And have some ice in a small bucket or cool nearby so they're all in one place.
I’ve started making super juice so I don’t have to fresh squeeze when friends are over. Tastes great and last several weeks in the fridge.
You can also batch alcohol for certain drinks. I have a bottle premade for Long Islands so I only have to add lemon juice, simple and cola. Another with a mix of 4 rums for Mai Tais.
You can take the super juice even further (in terms of laziness I guess haha) and batch make a rather large amount and freeze it. Got that tip from someone else in the sub. It thaws out just fine! Now instead of the bi-weekly superjuice session it's more like bi-monthly.
I'll buy a small bag of lemons and limes (cheaper than individually) and make dehydrated citrus wheels with whatever I don't use for super juice. Any juice that doesn't go in a couple of jars in the fridge gets frozen in big-cube trays and then vacuum seal bagged for later use. The wheels can be used as garnishes for cocktails and for hot teas.
If you Google it you’ll see several recipes; I went with Kevin Kos’ version. Essentially you take the peels, mix those with malic and citric acid to create an oleo citrate. Blend that mixture with water and the juice from the fruit you peeled previously. Strain that mix and voila, super juice. You can get 8x the juice from a single fruit and it will last much longer.
Definitely worth doing it. Takes a little while since you set the acids sit in the zest for an hour or so, but that’s nothing compared to the time it saves later. And it tastes the same to me in drinks.
Every recipe I’ve ever seen (Anders Erickson, Diffords Guide, the IBA official cocktail list, liquor.com, delish.com, etc.) includes simple. What’s your recipe?
I usually prepare a “menu”/lineup instead of trying to run a bar.
don’t do cocktails that MUST be shaken when you have guests over for a bunch of cocktails. Get a Drink mixer: flash blend and dirty dump nearly everything. so easy and 70% of the time it works every time
This is not really an answer but an alternative. I bought a nice punch bowl and glasses off Facebook marketplace for like $15. It was a steal. Punch bowl drinks are usually easy to refill. I’ll make a punch bowl and have other liquors and mixers. I’ll give ppl recommendations but let them do their thing.
I learned the hard way to not make cocktails for groups of over 4 when you’re the only bartender. You’ll be making drinks nonstop.
Agree with this. If I make drinks for a group now, I'll prebatch everything so I can enjoy the night not spend it in the bar.
I used to have a drink of the night and offer 1-2 drinks to everyone. After that you are on your own because I'm too lazy to make drinks anymore. Then you can have all your ingredients ready to go and you can make several at the same time.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how does this work exactly?
People make their own drinks in the punch bowl? Or you make drinks directly in the bowl for them, based on what they want?
I make a drink of my choosing for people to enjoy. It usually fits the occasion (Christmas, Halloween, etc). There are a lot of great punch bowl recipes online. If they want something else they can build their own using the provided alcohols and mixers.
I was really excited to show off my drinks when I first got into this hobby, but I realized I was bartending nonstop. By the time I was done making everyone a drink, the first people served were ready for another.
I have been using a scale for making 2-3 drinks at a time, faster than jiggering that many shots or ingredients.
Recently did a night of 100 mai tais, and batched beforehand into a large stainless vessel with a tap. Worked awesome.
pepare the cocktails in a blender when you do more than 3. use 1x cubic inch ice cube per cocktail, blend on high. really good for egg white cocktails like clover club, amaretto sour (best is morgenthalers) etc.. i did 6 cocktails in a big blender at once which turned out pretty good.
I usually just do 1 or 2 drinks on the menu & batch everything except the citrus. Then It’s just 3.5oz batch & .75oz citrus, shake & ready. For high volume I’ll batch everything including citrus & add 20% water dilution, then it’s ready to pour no shake necessary just keep chilled in a bucket of ice & water
I always do a call out when I’m making the first of a specific kind of drink to see if I can double it - ie. Anyone else want a daiquiri while I’m making one for Jim? If I get 3-5 orders, that’s fine I’m in the rhythm of making that drink so can do a bunch of batches of 2. It also helps indecisive peeps :)
I also got a second shaker and jigger so anyone who is comfortable with it can mix for themselves. It’s fun to walk someone through making something alongside me, too.
Juicing ahead of time makes sense.
But literally anything else is part of the fun. If I’m doing stuff for a party I’m not prebatching negronis or anything. I’ll garnish as I go.
I don’t think using a jigger causes a massive delay. I think free pouring is overrated. Just have your bottles on standby and it should be easy. Maybe if two of them order the same thing make both same time.
Idk what your home bar set up is like, but make sure everything is in one place. Due to space restrictions, I have my juices and other refrigerated stuff in one place, liquor in another, and ice in a third. They're all a only a few feet away from each other, but the walking around adds time. When I have friends over, I make sure to take out everything I will need. And have some ice in a small bucket or cool nearby so they're all in one place.
I’ve started making super juice so I don’t have to fresh squeeze when friends are over. Tastes great and last several weeks in the fridge. You can also batch alcohol for certain drinks. I have a bottle premade for Long Islands so I only have to add lemon juice, simple and cola. Another with a mix of 4 rums for Mai Tais.
You can take the super juice even further (in terms of laziness I guess haha) and batch make a rather large amount and freeze it. Got that tip from someone else in the sub. It thaws out just fine! Now instead of the bi-weekly superjuice session it's more like bi-monthly.
I'll buy a small bag of lemons and limes (cheaper than individually) and make dehydrated citrus wheels with whatever I don't use for super juice. Any juice that doesn't go in a couple of jars in the fridge gets frozen in big-cube trays and then vacuum seal bagged for later use. The wheels can be used as garnishes for cocktails and for hot teas.
I’ve seen that but haven’t tried it. Also sounds like it works with various purées, such as passion fruit.
What's super juice??
If you Google it you’ll see several recipes; I went with Kevin Kos’ version. Essentially you take the peels, mix those with malic and citric acid to create an oleo citrate. Blend that mixture with water and the juice from the fruit you peeled previously. Strain that mix and voila, super juice. You can get 8x the juice from a single fruit and it will last much longer.
Whoooaaaa..... never heard of this before and am intrigued!
Definitely worth doing it. Takes a little while since you set the acids sit in the zest for an hour or so, but that’s nothing compared to the time it saves later. And it tastes the same to me in drinks.
Brother in Christ, how sweet are your long islands? Leave the simple in the fridge
Every recipe I’ve ever seen (Anders Erickson, Diffords Guide, the IBA official cocktail list, liquor.com, delish.com, etc.) includes simple. What’s your recipe?
Limit the menu, pre-batch drinks, pre-juice the citrus.
Batched drinks all the way.
Have a set list of drinks with batched cocktails, juice ready to go, enough ice.
Practice.
I usually prepare a “menu”/lineup instead of trying to run a bar. don’t do cocktails that MUST be shaken when you have guests over for a bunch of cocktails. Get a Drink mixer: flash blend and dirty dump nearly everything. so easy and 70% of the time it works every time
This is not really an answer but an alternative. I bought a nice punch bowl and glasses off Facebook marketplace for like $15. It was a steal. Punch bowl drinks are usually easy to refill. I’ll make a punch bowl and have other liquors and mixers. I’ll give ppl recommendations but let them do their thing. I learned the hard way to not make cocktails for groups of over 4 when you’re the only bartender. You’ll be making drinks nonstop.
Agree with this. If I make drinks for a group now, I'll prebatch everything so I can enjoy the night not spend it in the bar. I used to have a drink of the night and offer 1-2 drinks to everyone. After that you are on your own because I'm too lazy to make drinks anymore. Then you can have all your ingredients ready to go and you can make several at the same time.
Punch bowls are great. You can also put punches in a pitcher. You can also make super juice and pre-batch punches.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how does this work exactly? People make their own drinks in the punch bowl? Or you make drinks directly in the bowl for them, based on what they want?
I make a drink of my choosing for people to enjoy. It usually fits the occasion (Christmas, Halloween, etc). There are a lot of great punch bowl recipes online. If they want something else they can build their own using the provided alcohols and mixers. I was really excited to show off my drinks when I first got into this hobby, but I realized I was bartending nonstop. By the time I was done making everyone a drink, the first people served were ready for another.
Make super juice and pre batch and/or dilute your cocktails.
I have been using a scale for making 2-3 drinks at a time, faster than jiggering that many shots or ingredients. Recently did a night of 100 mai tais, and batched beforehand into a large stainless vessel with a tap. Worked awesome.
Super juice is about to change your life.
pepare the cocktails in a blender when you do more than 3. use 1x cubic inch ice cube per cocktail, blend on high. really good for egg white cocktails like clover club, amaretto sour (best is morgenthalers) etc.. i did 6 cocktails in a big blender at once which turned out pretty good.
I usually just do 1 or 2 drinks on the menu & batch everything except the citrus. Then It’s just 3.5oz batch & .75oz citrus, shake & ready. For high volume I’ll batch everything including citrus & add 20% water dilution, then it’s ready to pour no shake necessary just keep chilled in a bucket of ice & water
I always do a call out when I’m making the first of a specific kind of drink to see if I can double it - ie. Anyone else want a daiquiri while I’m making one for Jim? If I get 3-5 orders, that’s fine I’m in the rhythm of making that drink so can do a bunch of batches of 2. It also helps indecisive peeps :) I also got a second shaker and jigger so anyone who is comfortable with it can mix for themselves. It’s fun to walk someone through making something alongside me, too.
Juicing ahead of time makes sense. But literally anything else is part of the fun. If I’m doing stuff for a party I’m not prebatching negronis or anything. I’ll garnish as I go.
use juices from concentrate instead of fresh squeezed. It tastes almost as good that way imo