FALL COCKTAILS: HOST A THANKSGIVING COCKTAIL PARTY

thanksgiving cocktails

With the hot summer months behind us, we’re all out there enjoying the crisper, cooler air and preparing for what one hopes will be many holiday feasts. Sourced Craft Cocktails loves tailoring our cocktail recipes to the seasons, and our mixologists have been hard at work in our kitchen labs concocting some of the most amazing fall cocktails, and we want everyone to partake. If you’re planning Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or just a football Sunday or two, we have some delicious cocktail ideas for you and your guests.

What Defines Fall Cocktails?

While we believe that there’s no wrong time for a great bespoke cocktail, autumn has a different feel to it. We believe that your tastebuds can heighten your other senses and solidify seasonal memories. You already know that one national coffee chain does this with the pumpkin spiced steamed milk and espresso drink they roll out every year around this time. 

Fall cocktails should have an alcohol base that warms you up, even if they’re served on the rocks, which most cocktails are. They should also have a hint of spice so that you can feel the drink at the back of your tongue. Color may be a secondary factor to taste in a fall cocktail selection, but many cocktails already have the rich color of autumn leaves because they have a whiskey, dark rum, or gold tequila base. With these “requirements” in mind, here are a few of our biggest fall cocktail selections:

singleton-cinnamon-spiced-mule-on-tap

Johnny Walker Cinnamon Spiced Mule – This delicious recipe mixes Johnny Walker Black, ​​Falernum liqueur, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, homemade cinnamon syrup, and ginger beer. It has the rare ability to refresh and warm. Sweet, spicy, but not overpowering. 

deleon-tequila-ginger-spice-cocktail-kit-on-tap (1)

DeLeón Tequila Ginger Spice – This cocktail mixes high-quality DeLeón Tequila, freshly-squeezed lime juice, cold-pressed pineapple juice, homemade cinnamon syrup, and Fever Tree Ginger Beer. The cinnamon draws out the citrus to make this mixed drink both fragrant and tasty. 

fistful of bourbon apple cinnamon highball cocktail kit

Fistful of Bourbon Apple Cinnamon Highball – As the name implies, we combine Fistful of Bourbon, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cold-pressed apple juice, homemade cinnamon syrup, and Topo Chico hard seltzer. If you like to warm up from the inside with a bourbon base, this is the drink for you. 

 

don-julio-winter-paloma-heroDon Julio Winter Paloma – It might say “winter” in the name, but it’s really not too early for the Winter Paloma, made with Don Julio Blanco Tequila, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, homemade simple syrup, and Fever Tree Sparkling Grapefruit. Warming and delicious. 

Tips For Hosting a Thanksgiving Cocktail Party

Thanksgiving parties, and of course, Friendsgiving parties, are festive events, and they’re usually characterized by a ton of heavy food. Not everyone can handle mashed potatoes, stuffing, and several carby beers — and if they can, they probably don’t really want to. Here are some tips for turning your Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving into a memorable cocktail party.

PLANNING

  • Establish Your Guest List Early – Know how many people will be coming solo, with a guest, or with family members.
  • Ask What People are Bringing – If your guests are bringing something, ask what it is. If it’s a duplicate, you can always say, “Someone is already bringing that. Feel free to just bring yourself.” Most people will ask what you need, and you don’t obligate your guest to go out of their way. 
  • Have Enough Seating and Table Space – You may need to borrow some folding chairs and cocktail tables if you’re expecting a large crowd. 

Pre-Order Everything

Don’t wait to get your turkey! This is a busy time for retailers, grocery stores, and liquor stores. At Sourced Craft Cocktails, we have to secure our supplies early since we purchase from local suppliers. You should do the same. 

Serve Thanksgiving Themed Cocktails

Given a choice, your guests would almost invariably prefer a predinner cocktail with their Thanksgiving food to a beer. But if you’ve ever tried to stock a bar and serve cocktails, it becomes a monumental exercise in logistics. Also, a cocktail bar gets messy with spilled drinks and mixers pretty quickly. Sourced Craft Cocktails ON TAP is the perfect solution to this. If you’ve never used Sourced before, you may not be familiar with our ON TAP delivery service. If you’re in a Sourced Craft Cocktail delivery area, you can choose your favorite cocktail and select a delivery time. One of our delivery mixologists will show up at the appointed time with a beautiful copper draft cocktail insurer and all of the ingredients. They will mix your cocktail right at your door.

All your guests have to do is put one of your reusable branded cups underneath the spout and pull the handle. Here’s the best part. The cocktail infuser keeps your drinks fresh for up to a week! Our large infuser serves 30 cocktails, and we recommend that size for all but the most intimate gatherings. 

How Sourced Can Help You Host a Memorable Thanksgiving

One of the many great things about serving our custom cocktails for Thanksgiving with an infuser machine is that you can serve them at your party or take them on the road. When you get invited to a party, and your host asks what you’re bringing, you can just say, “I’m going to bring spicy bourbon/rum/tequila/etc. cocktails for everyone.” When they ask you what you need to serve them, you can just respond “nothing” and leave it at that, or you can explain our simple process:
  1. Select a Cocktail
  2. Select a Delivery Time
  3. Track Your Delivery on Time

Office Thanksgiving Cocktail Parties

This has always been one of our most popular services. Whether you’re a boss who wants to give something back to your employees or the official party planner at work, we can host your cocktail parties in several different ways. 

Virtual Thanksgiving Happy Hour

For companies with work-from-home employees, hybrid employees, or remote employees, getting together around the holidays is next to impossible. We can host a virtual party for anyone who lives in our delivery zones. We will drop off the ingredients, a jigger, and a cup in a tote to each employee’s house. At the designated time, you’ll all get together on Zoom, and one of our mixologists will instruct you on how to assemble the cocktails.

In-Office Thanksgiving Party

A lot of companies wind down early on Thanksgiving Eve, but this will give your team members a reason to stick around. Throw an in-office cocktail party. We will bring everything you need, including cups and a bartender. You just need to tell us what cocktails you’ll want to serve. 

ON TAP Growlers

The easiest way to do an in-office event is to order ON TAP. You select a growler or two of your favorite fall cocktails, and we deliver them to your place of work or other event sites. Your employees can serve themselves without difficulty. We also have a service called the Parlor Club where you can schedule regular deliveries of our ON TAP cocktails. 

Team-Builders

If you’re looking for an unconventional type of seasonal party, why not have a team-building event. Sourced Craft Cocktails currently has four different types of team-builders:
  • Shaken and Stirred
  • Agave Happy Hour
  • Whiskies From Around the World
  • Bramble Bar


It’s definitely a fun way to get together before or after Thanksgiving and learn a little bit about cocktails. 

Sourced Craft Cocktails For the Holidays

Sourced Craft Cocktails can not only elevate your mundane Thanksgiving party to the extraordinary; we can also help with your shopping list. If you have a friend or family member who lives in one of our delivery areas, treat them to the gift of cocktails. Please make sure that they’re 21 years of age and will be home to accept delivery. 



 

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