Why Stronger Drinks Make The Absolute Best Pre-Batched Cocktails

Batched cocktails are a delicious and low-stress exercise in planning ahead and consistent drink-making. Once your guests arrive, your only job should be to mingle and have fun, not stress about minutia according to Ina Garten's number one hosting rule. A pitcher, punch bowl, or really any drink dispenser works here. If your party guests aren't stoked about tapping pre-batched Negroni from a neon plastic Gatorade cooler, then you should be shopping for new friends, not new drinkware. Keep in mind that some cocktails work better than others for pre-batching ahead of time — and the stiffer, the better.

Higher ABV in the base spirit increases the shelf life of the entire drink. You can pre-make spirit-forward cocktails in an emptied liquor bottle or large lidded Mason jar stashed in the freezer for weeks or months. When guests arrive, last-minute or otherwise, you'll have pre-measured drinks ready to pour, and thanks to their high ABV, the freezer will keep 'em chilled, not frozen solid.

Candidates for long-term pre-batching include cocktails like the boulevardier, martini, Negroni, sazerac, Vieux Carré, old fashioned, and Manhattan. Stashed in the fridge or freezer, these mixtures of shelf-stable ingredients will last indefinitely. As a rule for the road, if it's a stiff drink you'd usually stir to assemble, it'll hold up well in the freezer. There are a few adaptations to keep in mind for successful translation from single-serve to large-format batch.

Notably, lots of these stiffies call for bitters. Alas, in large-format batching, the ingredient has a tendency to become overly pronounced. Omit or limit these for batching, using half of the usual amount of bitters per batch, or adding a few dashes per individual serving retroactively.

As you sip, the ice in your drink plays a crucial role: Chilling and diluting your beverage, opening up nuanced flavors, and tempering unpalatable strong potencies. It's why we advise stirring your martini and why we advise discerning sippers to steer clear of nugget ice at all costs. If you're freezing your batched cocktails, you'll need to take this crucial dilution into account and add a little water into the mix proactively. The golden ratio here is 20% of the total drink volume – so, if you make 40 ounces of cocktail, you'd want to stir in an extra 8 ounces of water before freezing.

Alternatively, if lower ABV cocktails are more your style, these translate better to large-format adaptation as a punch. They'll freeze solid or explode in the freezer. Good non-frozen, lower ABV punches include the mojito, the Belmont Jewel with bourbon, lemonade, and pomegranate, orange mezcalitas, scorpion bowls, or any variation of sangria (we're all about this limoncello lychee version). These can be batched up to 24 hours in advance. For non-frozen punch-style drinks, aim for 15% dilution by volume.