Shaking cocktails to order for a room full of party guests may sound like the surest way to look like a cool, calm, and collected party host, but it rarely turns out well. If you’re anything like me, two rounds in you’ll be sweating—and still have a long list of friends waiting for drinks. Luckily, there is a way to make sure your guests get cocktails in hand without losing your mind (or energy).
For parties, I’ve taken to making what some folks call freezer door cocktails, which are pre-batched cocktails that sit in beautiful, labeled bottles (or quart containers) in the door of my freezer or fridge. I’ll make two or three according to my guests’ preferences so that, at any moment, I can pull out and pour a perfectly chilled drink on demand. No stirring or shaking required—and your counter can be full of all your incredible hors d’oeuvres (instead of liquor bottles).
You can do this with any cocktail, but to make things even easier, I rely on equal parts cocktails. The Negroni is maybe the most famous equal parts cocktail, but here are riffs on three other classics that will be perfect for your NYE party.
A quick note on batching: shaking or stirring adds a ton of water to a cocktail. This is done intentionally both to chill the drink, but also to temper its strength. A pre-batched cocktail is all about convenience, so instead of mixing yours with ice, dilute the mixture with anywhere from 15% to 25% of water by volume of the finished cocktail. Add more or less water to match just how crazy you want the night to get. For added convenience, I’ve written each recipe below to fit in a standard quart container.
Filthy Fifty
Every party needs a martini and this is my take on the 50/50 martini, which is typically equal parts gin and dry vermouth. Here we’re getting down and dirty by adding an additional equal part of olive brine. This reduces the alcohol content of a standard martini and in a super drinkable and savory way to kick off the new year.
- 1 cup gin
- 1 cup dry vermouth
- 1 cup olive brine
- Olives for garnish
- Combine the spirits and olive brine in a large measuring cup with a spout. Pour into a clean quart container.
- Add ½ to ¾ cup water to taste. Store in your fridge or freezer.
- Serve up in a chilled martini glass with as many olives as you can fit on your cocktail pick.
G6
My absolute favorite equal parts cocktail is the Paper Plane, in large part because it includes 3 of my favorite spirits: bourbon, sweet vermouth, and amaro. It also contains Aperol which, to my palette, is just a bit too sweet. This slightly embittered version swaps in Campari to make something that is a bit of a sipper, a drink you could imagine enjoying on a private jet, hence the name.
- ⅔ cup bourbon
- ⅔ cup amaro (preferably Nonino)
- ⅔ cup sweet vermouth
- ⅔ cup Campari
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Lemon twists for garnish
- Combine the spirits and lemon juice in a large measuring cup with a spout. Pour into a clean quart container.
- Add ½ to ¾ cup water to taste. Store in your fridge or freezer.
- Serve up in a chilled coupe glass with a lemon twist
Dirty Chai Carajillo
I’m far from the first person to say this, but the Carajillo, a mainstay coffee cocktail in Mexico, is far superior to the Espresso Martini. It has way less booze, but what it lacks in strength, the Carajillo makes up for by tasting like the best adult milkshake you’ve ever had. We’ve made this even lower in ABV with the addition of chai concentrate. This is perfect for your sober-ish friend who wants to keep their energy up through midnight and onwards.
- 2 bags chai
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 cup cold brew concentrate or freshly brewed espresso
- 1 cup licor 43
- Coffee beans for garnish
- Add teabags to ⅔ cups hot water. Let steep for 5 minutes, then remove teabags. Stir in milk.
- Combine the chai concentrate, coffee and licor 43 in a large measuring cup with a spout. Pour into a clean quart container.
- Add ½ to ¾ cup water to taste. Store in your fridge or freezer.
- Serve in a tumbler filled with ice.
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