Planning An Exciting Cocktail Party

Throwing a cocktail party is one of the most impressive and fun ways to entertain and although even the word sounds glamorous, hosting a cocktail party needn't bust the bank.

Cocktail parties are an easy bet for hosts because guests don't expect to be fed, other than a few nibbles, making them far cheaper than hosting a dinner party and, at the same time, more memorable.

Here's how to throw the perfect cocktail party:

Theme: Decide on a theme for the event. Are you going for thirties Great Gatsby glamour? Or a sixties Austin Power vibe? Asking people to dress for the occasion will really add to the event. It needn't be full-on fancy dress, even just feather boas and ties makes a big difference.

Decide on drinks: Cocktail parties could be hideously expensive if you had to provide all the drinks yourself. Instead, decide in advance what drinks you'll serve and ask friends to bring certain items when you invite them, so you know you'll have enough for three or four great choices. Alternatively, just choose one cocktail and theme the night round that. If what you serve becomes your signature cocktail, so much the better. I once had a great night hosting a champagne cocktail party. It actually wasn't very costly because of course we weren't drinking real champagne – you don't need to because you're going to add other ingredients anyway – but it gave the party a real air of decadence.

Stock up: Trawl charity shops for cheap glasses – it really doesn't matter if they don't match. Beg, borrow and steal cocktail shakers. Remember to stock up on all the things that guests probably won't bring but which make a cocktail party such fun: paper umbrellas, cocktail cherries, olives, lemons and limes, sugar cubes and cream. You'll need lots of ice too, which you can buy in big bags from the freezer section of most supermarkets, though I've always just asked the bar downstairs to fill a couple of bags for me – they've never refused.

Create a playlist: The right music is key. You're probably aiming for a slightly retro vibe, which will be ruined in an instant if you just leave your iPod on shuffle and out pops Beyonce. It pays to make playlists in advance. Because you're going retro you probably won't need to buy much new music – just rifle through what you've already got, as well as in secondhand shops. Easy listening is a good rule of thumb for cocktail party music.

Set out your stall: Before your guests arrive, turn your kitchen worktop into a bar, laying out glasses and ingredients, together with a few recipes. When guests arrive, show them where everything is and offer to mix their first drink. After that it's down to them. You'll find that people start out very serious, diligently following the recipe for the perfect Mojito, then gradually become more free-spirited as the booze kicks in. At my last cocktail party I discovered three people in the kitchen at midnight, none of whom had known each other before, all giggling and trying to come up with the most outlandish drinks. Cocktails are a terrific icebreaker.

There Are Some New And Top Popular Summer Cocktails

It's the perfect time for a nice smooth summer cocktail, but not just any old summer cocktail. You need something new, something fresh, something with an "extra kick." Here is exactly what you need: A list of great summer cocktails from Epicurious.com. There are twenty four summer cocktails featured on the website, but we narrowed it down to our top favorite summer cocktails, and here they are:

There are those who believe any cocktail is refreshing and suitable for summer. And they have a point. But when you’re grilling, or feasting on clams, or kicking back on the sand, some combinations of ingredients do quench the thirst better than others.

First, consider fruit. There's a reason why Gatorade and lemonade are popular in the summer months. They rely on the sweet-and-tart balance that only lemon/lime—and sugar—can provide. This is the formula for a sour. Drinks like the Margarita and the Daiquiri have spawned a million cocktails in this category. The Cosmo introduces cranberry to the equation. And if you can’t decide what fruit to use, try adding whatever you have lying around to drinks like the Sangria or Pimm's Cup, powered by ginger ale.

Bubbles are another well-known refresher: Add Champagne to sour mix, and you’ve got a French 75. Employ beer, along with hot sauce, and you’ve got the makings of a Michelada. Fresh mint, too, can tickle the palate as it refreshes; the success of rum-driven Mojitos and bourbon-bomb Mint Juleps proves the point.

Don't let brown spirits scare you, either: The international boom in cocktails has, in fact, inspired many bartenders to make lively, effervescent drinks with bourbon, rye, and Scotch, and to reinvent classics like the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, and the Blood and Sand.

For our summer cocktail slideshow, we’ve selected two dozen drinks to help you beat the heat. There’s something for everyone: bitter, sweet, salty, sour, up, on the rocks, shaken, stirred, even bubblegum-infused.

Tom Collins, The King Of Cooling Drinks

The Tom Collins refreshing gin sour that is an excellent sipper for hot summer days. There are a two common ways to make this drink. The one below uses simple syrup and lemon while the other replaces those two ingredients with the convenience of sour mix.

The Tom Collins was the official drink of summer -- "the king of cooling drinks," as ad copy for Fleischmann's gin put it. The index of Collins consumption seems to have been pegged to the thermometer. In July 1936, New York experienced a heat wave so scorching that the drawbridges over the Harlem River wouldn't close -- fire trucks had to be called to spray down the overexpanded steel of the drawspans. The price of lemons soared with the temperature, rising $2 a box in just one day. The demand driving the price spike was attributed to the thirsty people of the city turning to lemonade and Tom Collinses.

Ingredients:

2 fluid ounces gin

2 fluid ounces lemon juice

1 fluid ounce simple syrup

1 dash bitters

1 cup ice cubes

1/4 cup cold club soda

1 slice lemon, for garnish

1 maraschino cherry

Directions

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and a dash of bitters. Cover and shake until the outside of the container is frosty, about 15 seconds. Strain into a highball glass full of ice. Top off with club soda and garnish with a lemon slice and maraschino cherry.

Originally a Tom Collins was made with Old Tom Gin which is a sweetened type of gin. Unfortunately it is not seen often these days so we have to substitute regular gin and sugar syrup1. A collins is served in the tallest glass used for cocktails which is, appropriately, named a Tom Collins glass. It will normally hold 12-16 ounces.

Let's restore the Tom Collins to its rightful place. That means getting lemons and the means by which to squeeze them. One of the most valuable tools in my bar is a hinged citrus squeezer that operates like a garlic press. Juice half a lemon into a short highball glass with lots of ice. Add a teaspoon of sugar or simple syrup, more or less, a jigger of gin, and a few ounces of fizzy water. Then all you need is someplace in the shade -- and someone else to mow the grass.

Do You Think The Cocktails Glasses Matter Much When Drinking

Why do we drink cocktails out of cocktail glasses? I agree that they look pretty; moreover, the triangle is one of my favorite shapes, something that the cocktail glass deploys to terrific effect.
　　
But it's just not terribly stable. And especially when one gets to the second cocktail or to the point where conversation calls for particularly emphatic gesticulation, the imbiber (at least those of less than Olympically gymnastic hand-eye coordination) quickly finds him- or herself working hard to manage the preservation of delectable concoction within the cocktail glass's mercurial embrace.
　　
At risk of sounding positively heretical, would not the ordinary wine glass do all of the requisite tasks better? Or, perhaps more radically, could we design some finer, more appropriate serving vessel?
　　
A well-stocked bar not only requires different types of drinks, but also coordinating glasses and barwarefor serving various beverages. While most drinks have traditional glassware, you can be as creative as you want with your cocktail glasses. Mix and matchglasses and barware or choose unique cocktail glasses to reinvent your favorite drinks. Cocktail glasses can also be used for nonalcoholic beverages, such as bubbling punches and sparkling cider. To make sure you have enough bar glasses for all your guests, plan for one to two glasses per person for each beverage served at an event or party.
　　
Highball and lowball glasses: The tall, straight highball glass typically holds between 12 and 14 ounces of liquid. The base and rim of the glass are the same size. Highball glasses are often used to serve Bloody Marys and mixed drinks such as cranberry and vodka or gin and tonic. Drinks served in highball glasses are commonly served with ice. Lowball glasses are smaller than the highball, holding between 8 to 10 ounces of alcohol. Lowball glasses are commonly used to serve mixed drinks or a couple ounces of fine whiskey or scotch, served neat or on the rocks.
　　
Martini glass: Also referred to as the classic cocktail glass, the martini glass has a slim stem and a wide, cone-shaped bowl. The cone shape of the bowl helps to keep ingredients from separating. Martini glasses are used to serve martinis, Manhattans, gimlets and various mixed drinks.
　　
Shot glass: The smallest cocktail glass is the shot glass, or shooter. The ingredients of the shot glass are intended to be consumed in one swallow. The average shot glass contains 1.5 ounces of alcohol. Straight whiskey, vodka and other liquors are served in the shot glass. Some shot glasses include decorative embellishments, labels and pictures.
　　
Wine glass: This thin, elegant stemmed glass is used for various wines. Red wine glasses have wider bowls to increase oxidation, while white wine glasses are slightly narrower. Wine glasses are meant to be held by the stem so as not to change the temperature of the wine. It is also important to hold the glass by the stem to avoid fingerprints on the glass, which can be distracting when looking at color and clarity of the wine.
　　
Champagne flute: Made to serve sparkling wine, the flute is an elegant, ultra-slim goblet. The elongated shape of the glass prevents the champagne or other carbonated beverage from going flat; the long shape lets bubbles rise slowly, adding to the visual effect of the drink. Besides champagne, you can serve mimosas, champagne cocktails and even sparkling water in champagne flutes.
　　
Brandy snifter: Unlike other types of stemware, the bowl of the brandy snifter is meant to be held in the palm of the hand in order to warm the brandy or cognac. The glass has a wide base and a smaller rim, allowing the aroma to linger in the top portion of the glass and not escape.
　　
The reason we drink Bordeaux, for example, from tall, bell-shaped glasses which taper toward the top (other than elegant appearance) is that the shape focuses the flow of vapor. This is all quite helpful when your nose is eager to gambol across meadows of subtle aroma, and the alcohol (by volume) is unlikely to exceed 14 percent. Tasting from this type of glass is the equivalent of turning up the volume.
　　
When approaching the classic 40 percent liquor proof, however, the same level of magnification is more than enough to scorch nasal passages. Imagine cranking up the volume on a 747.
　　
Of course, I realize I've gone on and on about the practical, and only ended up smuggling in the aesthetic along the way. There's a good bit more to be said on that subject, though, so please let me know if I haven't scribbled you cross-eyed already. Also, your proposal of a new vessel is intriguing, and we should discuss it further. In the meantime, regardless of which vessel you choose, may all of your concoctions bedazzle and delight.
　　
And how do you feel about the cocktail glass, gentle reader? Does it make you feel majestic, or anxious? Do you wear your Martinis up or down? (Surly and warlike readers are also welcomed to respond, but I find the gentle ones require more coaxing.)

Places To Buy Trendy Cocktail Dresses For Less

Any women would tell you that dressing well on a budget is challenging, particularly when you want to wear the latest runway designs. Cocktail dresses are no different and trying to find a dress that is inexpensive but is of the latest design and pattern is quite difficult. And can you seriously consider wearing last seasons cocktail dresses? Of course not. So, you need to find avenues through which you can buy cheap cocktail dresses that are chic and trendy. Given below are a few tips on where you can find such dresses for less.

Places to Buy Trendy Cocktail Dresses for Less

Buy Online
If you want hot off the runway dresses, then the best way to do it is by buying cocktail dresses online. Online stores like net-a-porter, Shopstyle, Outnet and Asos stock the most trendy and fashionable dresses. They have a wide variety of designs and patterns in different sizes and styles and you are sure to find a dress that suits your body structure as well as budget. You can even find designer cocktail dresses from the latest collection of leading fashion designers and design houses. These online stores give you jaw dropping discounts of up to 70 percent. I myself bought a beautiful Emilio Pucci silk mini dress in fuchsia from Outnet for 50 percent of its retail price.

Boutique Sales
A great place to get a good bargain in inexpensive cocktail dresses is in boutique sales. Most boutiques hold an annual or bi-annual sale to push off their out-of-season stock. You can find many beautiful cocktail dresses at a very less price. Some exclusive boutiques hold sales for just a day and even your best friend will not tell you about such sales. So the best way to know when such stores are holding sales is to sign up for their newsletter which lets you know about sale dates. Some high-end boutiques even present an exclusive dress collection for their privileged customers during the sales. You can even find designer cocktail dresses under 50 dollars in such private sales.

Rent a Dress
If you want the opportunity to wear your favorite celebrity's clothes or a dress from a designer's latest collection at a fraction of the cost, then why not rent a dress. There are many dress rental stores that offer designer cocktail dresses on rent. You can find great designs and the latest couture dresses in such stores. You can even rent a dress online without physically visiting the stores.

Thrift Shop
The best place to find cheap cocktail dresses is in thrift stores. Thrift stores carry a lot of clothing that are out of fashion, but if you hunt carefully you can find some good vintage dresses. These dresses are usually very low priced and they come with incredible craftsmanship. Although you can find cocktail dresses under 100 dollars at such places, before purchasing a cocktail dress from a thrift store, do make sure that the dress is in good condition and all buttons, zippers and other closures work.

Dress Swapping
How many times have you looked into your closet and come across brand new dresses that do not fit you or which were impulsive buys that you do not enjoy wearing. I bet it is the same with some of your girlfriends. A very good way to acquire great pieces of clothing is by swapping dresses with your friends. Although technically you are not buying a dress, it is still a novel idea for you to wear the latest designer dresses. Just hold a casual get together and ask your friends to bring cocktail dresses that they want to swap. Browse through all the dresses and just pick any that appeals to you. You might find an incredible cocktail dress that looks great on you and fits you perfectly. And the best part is that you do not have to spend a penny and the dresses that were languishing in your closet can be worn by a friend who would appreciate its beauty.

With these options, you can definitely wear the latest fashion without having to break the bank. To dress well, you need to understand fashion and know the latest trends and designs. It is possible to be a frugal fashionista and dress in beautiful cocktail dresses without spending a fortune.