Event Drinks 101

Event Drinks 101: How to Choose the Right Bar for Your Event

Choosing the right bar option comes down to understanding your event goals, drinking habits and budget.  Imperia’s Bar Manager, Sarah Jo Hochstrasser, shares her take on the myriad choices.

How to Choose your Bar Type

There are 3 main styles of bar: Based on Consumption; Bar Package (all-you-can-drink, priced per person); BYO (usually with corkage fee).

Consumption:

  • Ideal for smaller events, light drinkers.
  • Downside: Harder to predict final cost

Package Bar:

  • Flat rate per person for unlimited drinks over set time.
  • Predictable total cost, easier for budgeting, ideal for larger parties.
  • Downside: May overpay if guests don’t drink too much.

Corkage/BYO:

  • Ideal for guests who want specific wines, signature spirits or control of quality and selection.
  • Downside: Logistics of transport, storage and leftover management.

What to Include in your Bar

Do you have just beer and wine?  Beer, wine, and spirits?  Beer, wine, and 1 or 2 signature cocktails.  “The answer primarily comes down to budget and guest preference,” shares Sarah Jo. “Having spirits increases inclusiveness of having everyone’s preferences met.”

However, just beer and wine simplifies choices, streamlines service, and reduces wait times. It’s also easy to pair with your menu, if you’re looking for an upscale, paired menu.

Typical “Tiers”

With most caterers or bar services, there are two tiers of alcohol: a standard or house level, and a premium level.  Typically, the difference is both the quality of the alcohol, and a wider selection/number of wines and beers.  What you choose is entirely based on your preference and budget.

At Imperia, for example, the house level bar includes 2 beers on draft, 4 wines, prosecco, and house-level local spirits.  At other venues, house level sometimes means “a brand you’ve never heard of” when it comes to spirits.  Then with our premium bar, the quality and the selection increases: 4 beers on draft, 1 hard cider, 1 hard seltzer, 6 wines, French Cremant sparkling wine, and upper tier local spirits.  At other venues, this may mean spirit brands that are more widely known to be expensive, such as Grey Goose.

Signature Cocktails

Let’s say you want a signature cocktail – or two.  Signature drinks are a small detail that leaves a big impression. It can elevate a moment. This is a great way to share your favorite drinks with your guests, and “suggest” a cocktail to them.  It can also be a way to add spirits to your bar without having a full spirit package.

Choosing your signature cocktail(s) should be done with care.  “Framing the experience as “finding a drink that tells your story” can make the process or decision to add signature cocktails exciting and personal rather than overwhelming,” Shares Sarah Jo.  “I recommend limiting options to 2-3 signature cocktails to avoid decision fatigue. Include a “safe classic” and 1 “unique signature” for both cocktails and mocktails.”

Here are some of our favorites:

Clients should consider the complexity as well.  If you can batch, or pre-make, the cocktail ingredients, it can help to avoid long lines at the bar.

What about Mocktails?

Over the last 5 years, there’s been a significant rise in non-alcoholic drinking.  This means that demand has increased and supply has answered with options that are vast, delicious, and at our fingertips.  The days of non-drinkers only being able to order juice or a tonic water are long-gone.

Hosts are adding signature mocktails to their events for multiple reasons:

  1. To accommodate non-drinkers seamlessly
  2. To encourage drinkers to have “every-other drink” be non-alcoholic, keeping them hydrated and on the dance floor
  3. In many cases, the mocktails are so delicious, no one can tell the difference
  4. It can sometimes be cost-saving, depending on the mocktail

Here are some of Imperia’s options:

Intentionality Matters

Many event hosts are looking for ways to be sustainable, buy local, and support diversity.  They’re looking at plants instead of flowers as centerpieces; local farm to table foods; and non-disposable wares. Being intentional about your event can come down to your bar, too.

Many caterers and venues offer local selections and welcome you to ask about what is going to be served.  See Imperia’s transparent bar offerings, supporting local, diverse purveyors.  Focusing on local brands supports small businesses and our regional economy, and it also brings memorable uniqueness and discovery to your event.  “It adds a feeling of curation rather than mass production,” says Sarah Jo. “Guests taste something special, or even exclusive.”

Conclusion

There are a lot of options when it comes to your event, and your bar is no exception.  At the end of the day, however, it all comes down to the experience that you’d like your guests to have.  From casual beer & wine to top-shelf-liquors and showpiece signature cocktails, it all comes down to what you want, and what fits your style (and budget).

If you have any questions or are looking for a 1-1 consultation for your Imperia Event, contact Sarah Jo at bar@imperiaseattle.com.

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