Five Top Tips For Batching Cocktails Like A Pro

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There’s a definite art to crafting cocktails – balancing flavors, sweetness, acidity and the like – and things can get complicated fast when making drinks for a crowd. Enter Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion, the latest book from Maggie Hoffman that’s out on March 19.

Hoffman’s latest book is filled with make-ahead pitcher drinks designed for stress-free entertaining – no need to whip out a cocktail shaker for any of these as they’re made in pitchers, jars and bottles. Recipes are organized by flavor profile; herbal and floral, savory and smoky, bitter, boozy, and there’s even a section for nonalcoholic cocktails because Hoffman believes “everyone at a gathering should have something fun to sip.”

Here are Hoffman’s top tips for batching, plus a recipe from her new book.

1. Water is key

Instructions to add water or ice in the cocktails aren’t merely a suggestion, it’s a key part in ensuring proper balance of flavors in the final drink.

“Pretty much every cocktail you’ve ever had has water as an ingredient, often added by the bartender by shaking or stirring the drink with ice,” said Hoffman. “This chills the drink (which you can also do in your fridge or freezer) but also, really importantly, adds water that lowers the proof and the sweetness of the combination! So, when you’re batching, you’re never just multiplying an ingredients list.”

2. Know the size of your container

Don’t just eyeball it – find out how large your to-be cocktail vessel is to ensure there’s enough room for the cocktail mix and any ice that needs to be added (which, as noted above, is not the place to be taking shortcuts).

“One way to measure your pitcher or punch bowl (and make sure it doesn’t leak) is to use a glass or plastic measuring cup to count how many cups of water fit in it,” said Hoffman.

3. Chill your ingredients

“When you’re batching in a pitcher instead of shaking individual cocktails with ice, you can give yourself a head start by refrigerating your ingredients in advance,” said Hoffman. “Any syrups, spirits and liqueurs can be put in the fridge the night before your gathering [and] even measured out and combined.”

4. Juices must be prepped fresh

Batch Cocktails is all about doing prep work to avoid any last-minute fuss, but you’ll want to wait until the day of for fresh-squeezed juices.

“While ingredients like spirits, liqueurs and syrups can be measured and combined in advance, and kept cool in your fridge, fresh juices like lime, lemon and orange juice will taste best the day they’re made.” said Hoffman. “I like to squeeze citrus juices just an hour or two ahead of a gathering (and add it to the refrigerated cocktail batch to keep cool) so I’m certain they’re going to taste really good, not oxidized or off.”

5. Don’t forget to keep non-drinkers in mind

With a growing trend for low- and non-alcoholic beverages and trendy alcohol-free elixirs gracing bar menus, alcohol-free drinks have come a long way from cloyingly sweet mocktails. Hoffman offers her take on the category in the book’s final chapter with concoctions like Honeydew Limeade, Pomegranate-Citrus Sans-Gria and The Blaylock (recipe below).

“Everyone deserves a special drink!” said Hoffman.

The Blaylock

From Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion

Makes about 16 servings in a 2-quart pitcher

Have you ever drizzled a really good grapefruit with honey? It’s one of those perfect combinations, so it’s not shocking that the pairing works in a glass, too, as Milwaukee’s Adam James Sarkis demonstrates with this recipe. It couldn’t be simpler to combine honey, grapefruit, lemon and seltzer, but the mixture is surprisingly complex in flavor, both tangy and rich. Make sure you have nine or ten grapefruits; yields will depend on whether you’re using an electric juicer or squeezing them by hand. Prep the honey syrup at least an hour—and up to a week—in advance, so it’s properly cooled when you start the batch.

4 1/2 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled 2:1 honey syrup (recipe follows)

TO SERVE

16 star anise pods (optional)

2 (1 L) bottles chilled seltzer

Lemon wedges (optional)

Up to 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Prepare grapefruit and lemon juices and pour into a 2-quart pitcher. Add chilled honey syrup and stir well to mix. If not serving immediately, seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.

To serve, toast star anise pods (if desired) over high heat in a dry skillet, watching carefully, just until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Fill tall glasses with ice, then carefully fill glasses about halfway with chilled seltzer. Top with pitcher mix, give each glass one gentle stir, then garnish with star anise pod and lemon wedge, if desired.

2:1 HONEY SYRUP

Makes about 1 1/3 cups

1 cup honey

1/2 cup water

Combine honey and water in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is uniformly blended. Do not let boil. Pour into a resealable container and let cool. Seal well and refrigerate for up to 1 month

Recipe reprinted with permission from Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion by Maggie Hoffman, copyright © 2019. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.