Why You Should Never Leave Fresh Ingredients In Your Batched Cocktails

Who doesn't love the idea of a batched cocktail? Made in large quantities to be served later, batched cocktails can take some of the stress out of throwing a party or serving cocktails to a crowd. The concept is simple — you multiply the ingredients for an individual cocktail by the number of servings you want, mix them together, and store them in a large pitcher or jar in the refrigerator until serving time.

Batched cocktails are fantastic for taking along on picnics. They can take some of the pressure off of hosting a dinner party by being ready to serve as soon as guests walk in the door. So many beloved cocktails, like Negronis, Manhattans, and Martinis lend themselves very well to batching. Even television host and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi says that she "lives and dies" by batched cocktails.

If you're ready to take the leap into batched cocktails, just know that, while generally easy, there are a few key things to know in order for the final product to taste as perfect as a just-mixed drink. For instance, you wouldn't want to add any ice to chill your batched drink beforehand because it will melt and dilute your cocktails before you have a chance to serve them. Instead, set your freezer to anywhere between 10 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit and chill your un-iced cocktails. When ready to serve, that batched Martini will be ice cold already!

There's another crucial tip to remember when making batched cocktails and it involves many of the fresh ingredients these drinks require.

When we say fresh ingredients, we're talking about things like lemon juice, fruits, or anything that might be considered perishable or could dissipate, like foamy egg whites or sparkling wine. Save all of these ingredients until right before serving in order to keep your batched cocktail fresh and ready to drink. For example, if you want to serve a batch of Americanos (the cocktail, not the coffee), you could batch the Campari and red vermouth ahead of time. When ready to serve, just pour the mix into glasses filled with ice, then top with club soda. If you were to add the club soda when first batching, you'd likely end up with sad, flat cocktails.

The experts over at The Alcohol Professor agree, noting that many bartenders will tell you that citrus degrades quickly when added to a cocktail. So save that splash of lemon juice for the final serving. The same goes for egg whites, which are used in drinks like a Gin Fizz. The egg whites foam through the action of being shaken in a cocktail shaker, but you wouldn't want to shake up a whole batch of egg whites ahead of time to add to your batched cocktail — they'd lose their pizzazz and separate from the other ingredients by the time you were ready to serve.

So remember — batched cocktails can be a helpful time saver, but leave out those fresh additions.