The Modern Host's Guide to Giving Guests Better Choices at the Bar

If you’re having people over for a casual get-together or a full-blown shindig, then you need to consider the drinks options with just as much care as you would the food offerings. Choice is everything in this context, so let’s talk about exactly what it takes to cater to modern tastes without excluding any of your guests.

Make Non-Alcoholic Drinks Appealing

One of the biggest shifts of our time is the move away from alcohol, although that doesn’t mean low- and zero-per-cent drinks need to be an afterthought at worst, or plentiful but bland at best. Even if there will be drinkers at your event, it’s important to give those who are steering clear of booze a decent selection to choose between.

Non-alcoholic mixers and even alcohol-free spirits are widely available on the market today, so you can make every cocktail under the sun, substituting ingredients for their NA equivalents where necessary. There’s also a big scene in fermented drinks like kombucha and sparkling teas, so even those who aren’t into cocktails can be kept happy.

If someone in attendance has addiction issues or has even attended a clinic for alcohol abuse in the past, you can be a respectful host by making the gathering totally alcohol-free. This type of inclusivity really makes a difference.

Have Choices, But Keep Drink Creation Simple

Too much choice can be a bad thing, of course, especially if you’re offering guests every cocktail under the sun, then having to make each one individually, leaving you with your hands full all night, and dragging out the serving process exponentially.

The solution is to keep your options focused around two or three specific flavour profiles and ingredient combinations, so that you’ve got a degree of flexibility while still being able to put together drinks quickly. So, for example, having a selection of cocktails that have a heavy citrus profile and use the same core ingredients as a result, or ones that are more herbal in nature, works wonders.

Prioritise Clear Labelling

Whatever your setup, it’s a good move to label everything clearly so that guests are in no doubt as to what’s on the menu and what drinks will be suitable for their needs. That goes double for setups where low- and no-alcohol beverages are available alongside those with a bit more of a kick.

You could even create full-blown menus, complete with visuals showing what cocktails will look like, to complete the effect. If you’re not a design whiz, it’s very easy to make this type of addition using AI image generators, so there’s no excuse.

And last of all, you can go the extra mile by actually asking your guests what they’d prefer to be available on the drinks menu in advance of the event itself. Be sensitive to any needs they might have, and don’t place any judgement on their requests, because the core responsibility of modern hosting is all about inclusivity and acceptance, as mentioned. With that, you’re bound to provide better choices at the bar.