Cocktail parties have been a popular social gathering for years. They were a hit during the first few decades of the 1900’s, were fueled by Prohibition, and died off a little during the last part of the century, but they’re back.
Great for entertaining friends or business associates, or a combination of the two, cocktail parties are a scene these days. Even for open houses or receptions, both business and personal, they are a great option.
While chatting with others, guests snack on a simple spread of food and imbibe on great cocktails; the average cocktail party thus lasts 2-3 hours. There are so many options available for catering in Gurgaon and its actually quite an easy event to plan.
Well, of course, there are many things to be taken into consideration here. As for the cocktails, below is a list of some current favorite cocktails.
- Cosmopolitan – Popularized on the HBO series Sex and the City, it is a fun, pink drink.
- Dirty Martini – You won’t need to wash after this drink so don’t worry. However, it has a salty bite to it with the addition of olive juice.
- Chocolate Martini – Anyone with a sweet tooth will like this drink. But it doesn’t look like what you’d expect.
- Apple Martini – This could count toward your 5-a-day fruit and veggie requirement!
Dos and don’ts: Savory Food
While opting for the best catering in Gurgaon, always serve finger foods for cocktail parties! No matter how tempted you may be to serve a totally delicious world famous butter chicken, resist! Try to resist serving anything where a plate is necessary. It’s not practical to carry a plate of food and drink at the same time while eating. So if you give your guests a plate, they will be sitting down a large portion of the night and that is not as inductive to mingling and making new social connections as walking around.
Keep in mind a few other tips here as you hire cocktail and birthday organizers in Gurgaon.
At least one vegetarian option and one vegan option should be included in the menu. For guests who are following a certain diet, you can even mention this on your drink menu.
Since many people are now trying to follow a gluten-free diet, you may also want to have a gluten free option.
Have at least one seafood option if you want to follow the old-fashioned cocktail party etiquette.
Ideas for desserts
Since you always have at least one sweet tooth in the crowd, it is a good idea to have at least one sweet hors d’oeuvre available from the beginning. Good options for this portion of the cocktail party are Chocolate covered strawberries on a stick or another chocolate covered fruit on a stick. Since it can subtly signal that it is time to start winding the cocktail party down, you should bring out your most decadent desserts for the last thirty minutes of the party as this can to help your cocktail party run more smoothly. Furthermore, your guests will leave with a sweet smile on their face!
Whether you’re an experienced cocktail party host or are hiring one of the best cocktail and birthday organizers in Gurgaon, here are tips to help make your next party a successful event.
- Stock up on plenty of ice. You’ll need it for chilling bottles of wine or champagne as well as serving in drinks on the rocks. For catering in Gurgaon, 1-pound of ice per guest is a good rule of thumb to follow.
- To cover the type of drinks you plan to serve, be prepared with an assortment of glass styles. Glasses for wines, juice and water; straight-sided highballs for tall drinks; tumblers for spirits and juices; and martini glasses should all be included here.
- Glasses should be twice as many as guests. As they mill about your party, wine glass charms will help guests to keep track of glasses.
- You’ll need to have one bottle for every two guests for a 2-hour party where you only plan on serving wine and/or champagne. Have a mix of white and red varieties. Red is becoming just as popular though white used to be the predominant favorite.
- You’ll want to stock up on vodka, whiskey, wines and beer for a basic bar. You can add gin, tequila, rum, bourbon, vermouth, sherry, and brandy for a more complete bar.
- Mixers including orange juice, soda, tonic, ginger ale, cola, tomato juice, Tabasco, lemons, limes, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce should all be stocked up.
- You can prepare by uncorking a few bottles in advance, and then replacing the corks if you anticipate your guests will be wine drinkers.
- Hiring a bartender to mix the drinks for your party is always a good idea. You will end up socializing more with your guests. Cocktail and birthday organizers in Gurgaon specialize in bartending services.
- For guests who may need a little assistance at the end of the party, have some coffee available. Your local taxi company phone number should also be handy and offered to any guests you believe shouldn’t be driving.
- Encourage your guests with children to find a sitter for the night – a cocktail party is not a family event.
Just encourage your friends to get together at the end. Facebook and Twitter updates are no substitute for actual face-to-face conversations – life goes by quickly these days!
