wedding bar Archives | Party on the Rocks

Bottles vs. Kegs

September 12, 2019

If you are planning a wedding or event, chances are you have beer on the brain! It’s the number one question our clients ask us when planning their bar menu, and we’re here to settle the age-old debate: bottles, or kegs?

Well…. it depends!

We know. Not what you were looking for. But the truth is, bottles and kegs both deserve a spot in the beverage lineup. What is important is determining what will work best for YOUR EVENT by considering a few key factors.

Before we get into the nitty gritty details, take a moment to think about the amount of beer to serve at your event. Things like time of day, season, and guest preferences all factor in. Our rule of thumb is to plan for 60% wine and 40% beer. If you will also be serving spirits, we suggest 30% spirits, 30% beer, and 40% wine. We dive into this topic when planning your perfect bar menu, read it here if you haven’t yet!

Bottles

Here are the key reasons that bottles might be the right choice for your event.

Variety

With beer variety on the rise – it can be hard to decide on just one flavor that your guests will like. Bottles allow you to purchase different types of beer in smaller quantities, all the way down to six at a time if you like. If you go with bottles, we suggest offering no more than four types of beer in order to avoid decision-paralysis, for both you and your guests!

Leftovers

Another great perk of beer in bottles is that they stay fresh for about a year when unopened. Kegs on the other hand, last less than 24 hours unless they are stored in a kegerator. If you want to avoid wasting any unused beer, bottles are the way to go.

Ease of Service

The number one reason to choose bottles, in our opinion, is ease of service. Bottles are fast to open and serve, whether they are given to guests directly in the bottle or taken a step further and poured in a glass. For a quick and happy bar line, bottles beat kegs every time. If you only take away one thing from the bottles vs kegs debate, it should be this: Kegs take 4x longer to serve than bottles. We repeat, four times!! This is a big factor to keep in mind when you are envisioning your event, as we all know that long bar lines can throw off your schedule and cause frustration among guests.

Kegs

If you are feeling like bottles are the way to go – keep reading! Kegs still pack a punch when it comes to adding value to an event. Here are the key reasons why kegs might be right for you.

Cost

Kegs allow you to buy in bulk in a way that bottles never can because you can skip the individual packaging and labels. In some cases, kegs can be 40-60% cheaper than bottles. If you are planning to serve a large portion of your guests beer, kegs are the most economical option.

Waste

What makes bottles easy to serve is also one of their downfalls—waste. Bottles are resource-intensive to manufacture and distribute, and can end up in landfills if not properly recycled. On top of eliminating packaging, kegs are reusable. If reducing the impact of your event and bar is important to you, kegs are the way to go.

Variety (again)

While bottles won over based on the number of beer options you can offer at your event, kegs can expand the brands of beer at your disposal. Many local microbreweries don’t can or bottle their beer, but they do fill kegs. If you have a particular brewery or a specific beer that you want to share with your guests, getting a keg for your event may be the only way to serve it! While we recommend serving a maximum of four types of bottled beer, for kegs we recommend a maximum of two.

There you have it folks, our thoughts on the bottles vs kegs debate! When it comes to serving beer, bottles and kegs both have their pros and cons. Consider the factors that are most important to you when it comes to cost, variety, waste, and servability. Whichever route you end up taking will ultimately support an amazing event!

Tell us, do you have a preference between bottles and kegs? Tag us on Instagram with your thoughts!

How to Pick Signature Cocktails

March 21, 2019

Trying to decide what “signature cocktails” to offer for a wedding or event? Signature cocktails are a fun and creative way to personalize your bar menu – and picking them should be too!

In our recent post on how to plan your perfect bar menu, we broke down the amount, type, and variety of beverages to serve at any event. Today we are taking it one step further to talk about how to pick your signature cocktails. Hint: simplicity is key!

Here are our top no-stress tips for picking signature cocktails that you, and your guests, will love.

Offer only one or two options

We suggest having one, or a maximum of two, signature cocktails at an event. The more options you give, the longer it takes your guests to choose and move through the bar line. You should spend your time drinking signature cocktails, not waiting in line for them!

Stay on theme

If your wedding or event has a theme, incorporate it into the bar! We often pair specialty cocktails based on food, such as mojitos or margaritas with Mexican food, or a Negroni with Italian. You can also pick based on your colors!

His & Hers, His & His, or Hers & Hers

If you can’t decide on just one, this is a great option for couples! Base it on each person’s favorite drink, or, just pick something that you’ll enjoy.

In honor of

A special way to memorialize someone who can’t attend your event is to serve their favorite cocktail. Your guests will love sharing in that special memory with you.

Have fun!

Signature cocktails do not need to perfectly sum up your past and future relationship in a glass – that’s a lot of pressure for one cocktail. If you DO have a drink that is meaningful to you – use it! But if not, don’t stress. Above all, signature cocktails are a fun way to share a beverage with your guests. The most important criteria, of any beverage, is that it’s delicious!

Don’t try to please everyone

Our clients often get concerned that their guests won’t like the cocktails they pick. To that we say, don’t worry about it! As long as you are providing another option like a wine or beer, your guests will be more than taken care of. Think of specialty drinks as another fun way to include your family and friends in things that you really like.

Pick a spirit that you normally drink

If you don’t know where to start, first pick a type of alcohol that you normally drink. This will help you narrow in on the types of drinks that you will probably enjoy. If you are offering two cocktails, we suggest having one clear spirit and one brown spirit. Whiskey and Vodka are the two spirits we work with the most!

Rename a classic

Make your drink feel extra special with some personalization. Instead of a vodka soda, rename it!

Sample, Sample, Sample!

Our number one tip is to sample cocktail options before you commit. Go out to your favorite bar and try out a few that you are interested in. This saves you from buying all of the ingredients that you may or may not use again, and it’s the perfect date night! You can also go on Pinterest, Etsy, or Instagram for inspiration … there are so many great options to chose from!

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Still having trouble deciding? Ask your bartending service for recommendations. Here is a short list of some of our favorite tried-and-true specialty cocktails. You can’t go wrong with one of these!

Moscow Mule
Margarita
Mojito
Old Fashioned
Whiskey Rose (try this one!)

What are your favorite specialty cocktails? Leave a comment or tag us @partyontherocksseattle to let us know!

The Perfect Bar Menu

January 24, 2019

There are a lot of ways you can set up the bar for your wedding or event. If you haven’t hosted large events before, it can seem overwhelming to decide! How much alcohol will you need? Should you serve only beer and wine, or spirits too? What about signature cocktails?

Getting the right balance of the type of alcohol and the amount of alcohol is key.

To help you plan your perfect bar menu, we’ve put together the most common questions we get asked by our clients, along with some of the biggest do’s and don’ts that we’ve seen.

Question #1 – How much alcohol do I need?

This is hands down the most common question we get asked. You don’t want to run out, and you also don’t want to end up with cases of wine leftover. To ensure our clients have just the right amount and stay within their budget, we use a simple guest to alcohol ratio.

First, take the number of guests at the event, and multiply by the number of hours of bar service. You will do this for up to a maximum of 4 hours.

Our rule of thumb is to plan for no more than 4 drinks per person during an evening. This helps to ensure everyone is safe and responsible, and that you have the right amount of alcohol. Let’s take a 100-person wedding as an example that has a total of 6 hours of bar service. Even though the bar is open for 6 hours, we will multiply our number of drinks by 4. In this case, you would need 400 drinks. Then, depending on the type of drinks you will be serving, we can determine the exact amount to purchase.

Question #2: What type of alcohol to serve?

This is a big one, and there are a lot of options to consider! We have a few common ratios to help guide you, but the most important thing to take into consideration is your guests. You know them the best – are they strictly beer drinkers? Or will they have an occasional cocktail? This can help you decide whether to offer simply a beer and wine selection or to add in spirits, and the relative amounts of each.

If you aren’t sure of your guests’ preferences, here are a few common ratios: For beer and wine, we suggest 60% wine and 40% beer. If you will also be serving spirits, we suggest 30% spirits, 30% beer, and 40% wine.

Question #3: How much variety?

A lof our clients worry about offering a wide-enough variety for their guests and “having something for everyone”. While it’s important to offer a mix of options, offering too many is one of the biggest mistakes you can make! The goal is to offer a selected group of alcohol that your guests can enjoy. Too many options will only end up backfiring.

Imagine that you open your fridge and you have 20 different types of beer, 10 varietals of wine, and the makings for 8 cocktails. How will you ever choose?? You will be standing there all night making up your mind!

That’s exactly how option-overload can feel for your guests. This can lead to long bar lines, frustrated guests, and a frazzled bartender.

To avoid this common mistake, follow these guidelines to determine the variety within each alcohol type.

Wine

Offer at least a white and a red wine, and perhaps a rose. Then, provide a maximum of two different types of each.

Beer

It’s easy to over-buy on beer, especially in Washington where we have an amazing selection of local beer. But, this is not the time for variety packs. Here’s what we suggest:

For kegs: provide two different types of beer
For bottles and cans: provide no more than four types of beer.

Another important note is that serving beer in kegs takes four times as long as bottles or cans. If you really want to keep your bar line moving, you may want to stick with bottles and cans.

Spirits

If you are going to include spirits on the menu, simplicity is key. We suggest a maximum of two cocktail options. This will help your guests avoid decision stress, and allow the bartender to efficiently serve your entire event.

Question #4: What type of cocktails to serve?

Specialty drinks can be a lot of fun, and there are so many directions you can go in! As with the rest of your bar menu, having a couple of select options for your guests is more than enough. Batch drinks that are non-carbonated are a great option because they can be prepped in advance. Some of our favorites are margaritas, Moscow Mules, and mixed drinks such as whiskey and coke. Keep it simple!

Question #5: How many bartenders do you need?

The number of bartenders needed will increase with your number of guests and the complexity of your bar menu. One bartender can effectively serve about 100 guests if you are only serving beer and wine. As your guest list grows to over 100, think about adding a second bartender. If you are also serving spirits, you will want a second bartender if you have more than 75 guests.

As bartenders, our number one goal is to make sure your guests have a fun, safe, and enjoyable experience! Keeping your bar menu simple is the number one piece of advice that we hope you follow.

For more ideas, check out our sample bar menu below. What would you include on your perfect bar menu? Let us know!