10 Impressive Ways to Serve Cocktails
Add fizz and flavour to your weddings and party festivities with quirky cocktails, pretty 'poptails' and uniquely desi twists to your favourite drinks
What’s a party or a wedding without cocktails? These add fizz and pop to celebrations especially when served in classy and interesting ways. So say, or rather hashtag #cheers at your do with these cool ideas for your poolside mehndi, reception or bachelorette/bachelor’s bash.
1. Champagne Towers
This makes for great photos and is a pretty cool party trick. Get your hired bartender and his team to set up a Champagne Tower at your reception. This can be arranged on a long table which makes it easy for you and your partner to pour champagne from the top with a steady hand. The champagne is supposed to overflow from the top of the ‘tower’ and fill the remaining glasses underneath.
Photo Courtesy- A Night of Nostalgia
2. LED Ice Cubes
Shine a light into the deep delightful depths of palate-pleasing cocktails with LED Ice Cubes. These add a pretty touch to glasses as they are available in different colours, and add a spectacular effect vibe when paired with cocktails of unusual hues. These are typically battery operated, and are specially manufactured to be safe to dunk in liquids.
Photo Courtesy- Pinterest and Disney food blog
3. Tropical Temptations
Bring the breezy vibe of Hawaii to your poolside party with Tiki cocktails. This bar will feature tropical accents like tribal masks, faux miniature palm trees and bamboo ‘tiki’ lamps from the Caribbean and South Pacific. The highlight here will be rum-based drinks such as Mai Tai as rum is the go-to drink in the tropics. Fresh juice is also a must, and you can request your bartender to experiment with liqueur flavours and spices.
Photo Courtesy- The Temple House
4. ‘Poptails!’
This is perfect for that outdoor summery wedding at some lovely beach resort. Guests will enjoy slurping Smirnoff-flavoured popsicles which are easy to prepare in popsicle moulds. Serve in shot glasses or dunk further in fruit juice before serving traditionally on their sticks for that rich colour and added taste. These ‘poptails’ will bring out the kid in some guests!
Photo Courtesy- Popsicles-Fly Away Bride
5. Desi Twist
The sharp flavours of vodka and tequila pair well with uniquely Indian spicy treats – think Vodka Pani Puris and Vodka Shikanji. The Masala Mojito cocktail has a sweeter note, but is no less delicious. And ‘sour grapes’ gets a yummy makeover with the tongue-teasing Tamarind Margarita.
Photo Courtesy- Pinterest and Cooking with Siri
6. Quirky Stirrers
The right cocktail stirrer can be a conversation starter for your guests at your welcome dinner especially if they are unique – think customised wooden stirrers with wedding logos or festive stirrers with sparkly tinsel and sequins. You can also create stirrers according to the colours and themes of your events, and these make great keepsakes for guests.
Photo Courtesy- em for marvelous, Katy Lunsford and Etsy
7. Flower Power
Ice cubes with flowers or buds make for a really pretty picture. Simply add edible flowers like lavender, rose petals and jasmine buds to ice trays before freezing. You can also add mint leaves into each cube for a green foliage vibe. Just make sure you take photos quickly before the ice cubes melt.
Photo Courtesy- Lovely greens and Cntraveller
8. Molecular Marvels
Created with methods used in molecular gastronomy, molecular cocktails are more complex to prepare as they involve experimenting with different drinks on a molecular level to create new blends and textures. Think spherical cocktails, smoke-infused martinis, flavoured foam, spirited jellies and alcohol caviar. You will need to hire special trained mixologists for these uber modern concoctions.
Photo Courtesy- Cookistry and Viralnova
9. Edible Garnishes
A celery stalk, carrot sticks, cherries, olives and lemons have long been popular edible garnishes for cocktails. Now dress up glass rims with custom-flavoured salts, rosemary sprigs with cranberries, fruit juice ice cubes, candied ginger and even matching lollipops which do double duty as a sweet treat as well as a stirrer. The sky is the limit here so let your imagination loose and play around with ideas.
Photo Courtesy- Seen in the city and Viralnova
10. Lovely Layers
Floating shooters are the sophisticated version of your basic shooters and involve layering drinks and ingredients like cream to create a dramatic visual with different densities and colours. Think mini mojito with crushed mint leaves or a mini kamikaze with vodka, Blue Curacao and lime juice. Once poured, the drink should not be stirred or else it will lose its visual beauty.
Photo Courtesy- Bols Bartending and Pinterest
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