Cocktails for a New Years Eve Party

In planning a New Years Eve party, one of the most exciting items is to select cocktails for the party. New Years Eve is a holiday associated with alcohol consumption. Those who attend these parties are likely to expect an array of interesting cocktails to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Many hosts are more than willing to oblige their guests with an assortment of delicious and interesting cocktails.

When planning a New Years Eve party which will include children, it is important to plan to serve a wide variety of nonalcoholic drinks as well as the alcoholic cocktails for the adults. This is important because it will prevent the children from being jealous of the interesting drinks the adults are drinking. It will also prevent the children from being curious about the drinks the adults are enjoying and trying to sneak a taste of these drinks. Nonalcoholic cocktails considered mocktails, can often look just like the real drinks in a wide variety of colors, flavors and textures. Drinks such as the pina coloda, margarita and various martinis can all be in nonalcoholic versions.

In planning cocktails for a New Years Eve party, you should consider offering a wide variety of drinks throughout the night. This could include both hot, cold drinks and even frozen drinks. One of the most popular cocktail choices for a New Years Eve party is punch from a punch bowl. This festive cocktail is typically sweet and contains ingredients such as fruit juices, lemon lime soda and an array of alcoholic ingredients such as vodka and rum. Some hosts may even include champagne in the punch mixture. Adding a scoop or two of sherbet to the punch bowl also helps to cool the drink and adds a layer of taste and texture to the mixture.

Another popular choice of a New Years Eve party is to offer one signature cocktail throughout the evening. This can be an item such as a Martini created specifically for the occasion with a seasonable feeling. An eggnog martini is an example of a drink which is much fun as well as fitting for the season. Champagne cocktails are also suitable for a New Years Eve party. You can create a simply champagne cocktail by combining champagne with sweet vermouth and grenadine.

Hot cocktails are also popular choices for a New Years Eve party. Spiked coffees and hot chocolates are always popular but for a more festive cocktail consider creating drinks with a hot cider base. You can create a luxuriant hot chocolate cocktail by combining a butterscotch flavored liqueur with rich hot chocolate. An example of a hot drink which is also festive is a hot cider spiced with cranberry juice and rum. Although hot cocktails are popular, most guests will likely only drink one or two hot cocktails during the evening. Conversely they are likely to consume significantly more cold cocktails during the evening. Therefore, provide both hot and cold cocktails during your New Years Eve party. 

Regardless of the cocktails you decide to serve throughout the evening, it is usual to offer a champagne cocktail at midnight. You should begin giving out the champagne a few minutes before midnight to ensure everyone has their glass to make a toast and take a sip of the bubbly champagne at midnight. Offering the champagne in an elegant glass and including a strawberry in the glass can create a more elegant presentation. You should also use a fine champagne. During the evening, you may have served alcohols which fit your budget, but it is worthwhile to splurge on a more expensive champagne for the toast at midnight.