Let's Make A Prosecco Cocktail Bar!
SO we all love Prosecco, and serving it at a party is pretty much a no-brainer. But, it's also probably what everybody else is doing. How to stand out???
The fabulous Pam Wiznitzer- bartender and creative director at Seamstress in NYC- showed me how to create a very fun DIY-Sparkling Cocktail station. She assembled glassware (flutes and highballs are both good), ice, sparkling wine, an array of flavored syrups and juices, and fresh fruit and herbs to garnish. Then, all the guests created their own signature cocktails! When we tried it out, everyone had so much fun exercising their creativity, showing off their concoctions and tasting each others', and there was even a bit of healthy competition to see who could create the best one... (not tryin to brag, but my pomegranate/ginger/rosemary cocktail was on POINT).
A few words of advice from Pam:
Making your own sparking wine bar at home is the perfect way to entertain with less stress on the host. A few important notes about setting up the bar:
1) Make sure to have a few different sparkling wine options: I like to give my guests Prosecco, a sparkling rose and maybe a moscato d'asti as well.
2) Use fresh/real juices: Juices from concentrate and juice cocktails have loads of preservatives and additives that won't make your drink "pop" like fresh juice. If you have a juicer at home, make them yourself. Otherwise, choose brands that are "100%" Juice or even nectars or purees to make sure you have quality offerings.
3) Seasonality: Raspberries are not wintertime fruits. And not all herbs are fresh year round. Check out your local farmers market/fruit stand/grocery store to see what fruits and herbs are in season. If the price points are insanely high, that's a sign that the product may not be in season and shipped from far away.
4) Have fun: This is about making your own signature drink. Remember, it's up to each person to make their own drink so get crazy and try loads of flavor combinations!