One of the keys to kicking off a Supper Club or dinner party is getting guests a drink as quickly as possible as they arrive. It doesn’t need to be a “signature” drink. It doesn’t even have to be alcoholic. There is just something welcoming about giving guests a drink.
Signatures drinks are great for Supper Clubs. The first time I made Mint Mojitos for a Supper Club it was a huge hit. In the spring my mint crop is prodigious so I thought I would give it a try. Initially, our guests were less than receptive. Being wine drinkers they were a little leery of something rum based. A few sips in and they were hooked. I have also used champagne cocktails along the same lines. My brother in law makes cocktails based in fresh fruit juice that are great. Doing something different sets the right mood and gets your guests thinking that there are in for special culinary evening.
Signature drinks are one of the keys for a successful wedding reception. For whatever reason my wife and I have been to a lot of weddings over the last few years. There is nothing worse than having to wait on a long line to get that first drink at a wedding reception. About 80% of the time that is the case. It doesn’t seem to matter how simple or elaborate a wedding is. If there is a long line to get drinks it sets the wrong mood.
We went to a wedding last summer of the daughter of a friend who is a corporate titan. My buddy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the wedding and that didn’t prevent the 30 – person line-up to get a drink. It is pretty simple; all you need to do is to have the wait staff walk around with trays of drinks. The drinks don’t even need to be all that special. Red and white wine would be great. The key is to get the wedding or any party started on the right foot.
Having been to a lot of weddings one witnesses all types of strange things. One of the funniest things I have ever seen was people trying to eat poorly prepared oysters. This was at a very elaborate wedding where our hosts spent a lot of money for a beautiful raw bar. Oysters have two muscles attachments one for the upper shell and one for the lower shell. The caterer had cut only one of the two muscles. The poor guests had waited on line to get their drinks. Then they went straight to the raw bar. Just picture a group of people dressed in their finest trying to balance a drink and eat an oyster sabotaged by still having the muscle attached to the shell. It was hysterical. Not to mention the one poor guy that lost the oyster’s cocktail sauce down the front of his light blue suit.
For other tips on Supper Clubs and entertaining keep reading my blog at www.impromptufridaynights.com and be on the lookout for the book Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs due out from Morgan James Publishing January 30, 2018