Hosting any event comes with its pros and cons. Sure, you can go straight to bed the minute guests leave, but you’ll be walking around like a chicken with its head cut off until then. A lot goes into making a party perfect, and the work doesn’t stop when the guests arrive. Luckily, with a little prep beforehand, you can cut back on this constant attention to detail. For instance, start working on appetizers before guests arrive and batch cocktails to help you be the host with the most. You don’t have to sacrifice freshness at the altar of preparation, either. For example, to keep those batched drinks ice-cold without compromising flavor, just use a big block of ice.
Instead of relying on the usual cubes from the fridge, prepare a large block specifically for your pitcher. To make the ice, save a vessel you’d usually throw in recycling, like an empty can or a leftover plastic bottle. Even a cake pan or food storage container will do. Use whichever can create big enough ice for a batched drink, but small enough to fit in the pitcher or punch bowl. Fill that up with water and let it freeze overnight. When guests arrive, tear open the container and add it to the pitcher to keep your drinks cold without diluting their taste. The fact is, smaller ice cubes melt faster than larger ones, and this simple swap can turn a watery batched drink into the best beverage around.
Why dilution is still important
If you want to avoid dilution altogether, another way to chill a batched beverage while preserving flavor is to freeze some of the drink the night before. When the party starts, add the frozen juice to the pitcher to keep it cold. This is a great option for non-alcoholic drinks like fruit punch and sweet tea.
Of course, if alcohol’s on the table, you need that ice to dilute the punch to avoid an overly potent drink. This is one critical step you don’t want to miss with batched cocktails, and ice cubes are great candidates for the job. The added dilution from the melting cubes brings balance to the flavors within. If you want to get exact, you can cut these drinks with water instead, but if you prefer to keep the pitcher chilled, just add in a large ice cube or two and forget about it.
Save yourself from having to bust out the shaker all night, on top of all the other things on your list, and stick to batched drinks chilled with big ice cubes. This will help you impress at your next dinner party while giving you more time to have fun yourself, too.
