We love a good signature cocktail! There are so many pros to offering these – they look great in photos, make a big impression on guests, and are super fun to create, name, and drink! But that doesn’t even cover the best part! The best part is that they’re usually more cost effective than serving beer and wine only. Here’s how we recommend going about adding these creations to your bar menu.

Start by considering your favorite cocktails and cross-referencing with your color palette and design. If you’re having shades of green, think margarita. If you’re after a dark and moody vibe, maybe a bourbon-based drink is for you. Grapefruit or pomegranate juice are good for pink or burgundy hues. Once you have some direction on what you want, call your bartender or mixologist. They’ll likely have quite a few other questions for you to go over before they’re able to craft some drinks for you to try.

At your tasting, pay close attention to how your cocktail looks before trying it. Place the two drinks side by side and see how they pair. If it makes sense for the drinks, try using different size/shape glasses (e.g. tall and short).  Also check out the garnishes. Would you be excited if these drinks came to you at a bar or restaurant?  Make sure it passes the eye-test. When you drink it, make sure you really enjoy it. You can always ask for tweaks to the recipe until it’s just right. That’s a huge advantage of hiring a mixologist! 

Once you’ve got your drinks set, you’ll need to update your rental order. The best thing to do here is to email your rental rep and your mixologist together and have the mixologist add whatever is necessary onto the rental order. We’ve seen too many things get mixed up when couples become the middleman.

Last – come up with a clever name for your drinks and have a graphic designer make you custom bar signs. Have fun with this part and go beyond just naming them “his” and “hers” if you can. Your guests will be tickled at the creativity and thought that went behind this small aspect of the event. It’s sure to make a lasting impression.