THE 2020 GUIDE TO COCKTAIL-PARTY BLISS

So you might not be having a serious jamboree any time soon, but even the smallest get-together needs some high-quality refreshments.

It would be easier this year, understandable even, to pare down any event to a kind of pandemic minimalism. But at the same time, making the most of a suboptimal situation is the very nature of cocktails, their raison d’être (think Prohibition). The whole point from the beginning was to take a spirit you’re less than enthusiastic about (say, bathtub gin), and transform it, through effort and ingenuity, into something special.

Parties will certainly have fewer guests this year, but if you’re hosting anything at all, whether it’s outdoors, within your bubble or fully masked, the principles and guidelines of cocktail-making still apply. These tips should bring your vision into reality and increase the luster of your drinks without requiring nerd-level homework.

Cocktails are not, and have never been, strictly necessary, but in a way that’s what makes them shine. It’s the frame around a picture or the frosting on a cake, or dressing up for date night even if it’s just you and your spouse—they’re the definition of making an effort. Crafting, serving, sipping a great drink is one of the million small choices that add up to the difference between surviving and thriving. To that end, we’re here to help with recipes for can’t-fail cocktails and spirits.