Tips For Your NYE Cocktail Party

Summary

All Of It: Tips For Your NYE Cocktail Party – Detailed Summary

Episode Release Date: December 31, 2024
Host: Alison Stewart
Podcast: All Of It by WNYC

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Introduction to the Episode

In this festive episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart delves into the art of crafting the perfect New Year’s Eve (NYE) cocktail party. Emphasizing the importance of celebrating with the right libations, Stewart is joined by cocktail experts Carrie Jones and John McCarthy, authors of the acclaimed book Every Cocktail Has a Twist. The discussion spans from setting up a home bar on a budget to innovating classic cocktails, ensuring listeners are well-prepared to ring in 2025 with style and sophistication.

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Guest Introduction and Book Overview

Alison Stewart introduces listeners to Carrie Jones and John McCarthy, highlighting their expertise in mixology and their latest publication, Every Cocktail Has a Twist. The book is a comprehensive guide that explores 25 classic cocktails and offers over 200 creative variations, making it an essential resource for both novice and seasoned home bartenders.

“We are here to help you perfect a drink you know and introduce you to new favorites,” explains Carrie Jones (02:30).

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Setting Up Your Home Bar on a Budget

John McCarthy emphasizes the importance of a strategic approach to building a home bar, especially when working with limited space and budget.

“Start with a drink that you know you like and get the booze for that,” McCarthy advises (03:45). This focused method prevents unnecessary purchases and ensures that the essentials are both used and appreciated.

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The Importance of Fresh Ingredients

Freshness is crucial in cocktail preparation. Carrie Jones advocates for using fresh juices over concentrates to enhance the vibrant flavors of cocktails.

“If it's from concentrate and it's been pasteurized, it's not going to have the fresh, bright acidity that really lifts the cocktail,” she explains (04:22). This commitment to quality ingredients elevates the overall cocktail experience.

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Essential and Nice-to-Have Bar Tools

The conversation moves to the tools that can enhance home bartending. While essential tools are necessary for crafting a variety of drinks, nice-to-have items like ice bags and mallets add a fun and creative element.

“You can make a snow cone inside your glass that then you fill up with your cocktail,” describes John McCarthy (04:40). This technique is particularly useful for cocktails like juleps or cobblers that benefit from crushed ice.

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Secret Ingredients: Sherry in Cocktails

Carrie Jones reveals her favorite yet underappreciated cocktail ingredient: sherry. She highlights its versatility and the depth it can add to various drinks.

“Sherry is one of the most underappreciated cocktail ingredients out there,” Jones states (05:18). Whether used sparingly to add nuance or as a central component, sherry enhances both classic and innovative cocktails.

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Eggnog and Raw Eggs: Safety and Twists

As eggnog is a staple for NYE, Stewart and her guests discuss the safe preparation of cocktails containing raw eggs. They emphasize proper handling and incorporation to ensure both safety and texture.

“If you make sure it's fully incorporated, that's a great trick,” Carrie Jones advises (07:16). Additionally, they introduce creative variations like the “Run Run Rudolph,” a blend of eggnog with Irish whiskey and coffee liqueur, adding both energy and sophistication to the traditional recipe.

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Batching Cocktails for Parties

Batching is a key technique for efficiently serving cocktails at large gatherings. Carrie Jones explains batching as the process of making large quantities of a cocktail in advance, allowing hosts to pour and garnish as needed without being stuck behind the bar.

“The key ingredient when you're batching is adding water,” McCarthy notes (08:41). Proper batching ensures balanced flavors and manageable alcohol content, preventing overly strong or unbalanced drinks.

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Listener Questions and Expert Answers

Ginger Beer Cocktails

Listener Lindsay from Bedford, New York, inquires about expanding her household's love for ginger beer beyond Moscow Mules and Dark 'n Stormies.

“Ginger pairs well with almost any spirit,” Carrie Jones responds (09:29). She suggests experimenting with applejack for a fall or winter twist, combining it with ginger beer, a slice of lemon, and a sprig of rosemary for a refreshing and seasonal drink.

Choosing the Right Whiskey for a Manhattan

Jim from Rockland County questions whether low-end rye bourbons are preferable for Manhattans over pricier brands.

“The proof is important. Evan Williams at 86 proof has a little bit of a punch, perfect for a Manhattan,” McCarthy advises (11:53). He reiterates that expensive bourbons are best sipped neat, while affordable, high-proof options work excellently in cocktails.

Pisco Sour and Margarita Fusion

Jay from Plainfield, New Jersey, wonders if a Pisco Sour recipe, which includes egg white, can be adapted into a margarita.

“If you use pisco in the proportions of tequila, you’ll have a drink that straddles both drinks beautifully,” Carrie Jones suggests (14:27). Combining elements from both cocktails can result in a unique and delicious hybrid.

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Creative Hot Toddy Recipes

As winter sets in, Stewart and her guests explore innovative takes on the classic hot toddy. They discuss various spirits that pair well with hot water, honey, and lemon to create warming and flavorful drinks.

“With barrel-aged gin and blackberry jam, you get a rich fruity syrup with great weight from the gin,” Carrie Jones shares (15:27). They also experiment with intense scotches and amaros, adding complexity and depth to traditional hot toddies.

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Conclusion and Teasers for Next Segments

Alison Stewart wraps up the episode by thanking Carrie Jones and John McCarthy for their insights on cocktail crafting. She previews upcoming segments, including cooking with kids, performances by high school jazz musicians, and music by Tunisian artist Noor Harkati, enticing listeners to stay tuned for a diverse array of cultural and creative content.

“That's all of it for this hour. After the news, we'll talk about some cooking with kids...,” Stewart concludes (16:31).

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This episode of All Of It serves as a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to elevate their NYE cocktail party. From budget-friendly bar setups and the significance of fresh ingredients to innovative twists on classic drinks and practical tips for hosting large gatherings, Carrie Jones and John McCarthy provide invaluable expertise. Whether you're a seasoned bartender or a home enthusiast, this episode equips you with the knowledge to create memorable and delicious cocktails for the New Year’s celebration.

Transcript

[Listener Support]

Listener support, WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of It. I'm Alison Stewart. Today we're sharing some ways to celebrate the new year. And now we'll get into the celebratory spirit with some spirits when the ball drops at midnight tonight. Standard fare is a glass of champagne. But what kinds of libations are best to help prepare for that countdown? And what might people want to look forward to as their first cocktail of 2025? So let's get into it with a mixology book called Every Cocktail Has a Twist. Just a reminder, this is an all of an encore presentation. So even though you might hear some callers from the original, we won't be able to take your calls today.

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart.

If you've been to a bar or.

Restaurant lately, you've probably seen all kinds of variations of cocktails, from interesting to the absurd. Some believe the demand for espresso martinis may have gone too far. But does anybody really need chicken soup added to their favorite spirit? I don't know. But there are ways to expand on the classics. According to Carrie and John. Oops, sorry. According to Carrie, Casey Jones and John McCarthy. I gave you guys new names. Sorry about that. Casey Jones and John McCarthy. They have a new book out called Every Cocktail Has a twist. Master 25 classic drinks and craft more than 200 variations. For example, the chapter on Manhattans. Here are the options. It says Manhattan's. I'd like a Manhattan straight up and delicious. Our classic Manhattan. I'd like a Manhattan. Une pou French. The foggy Do. I'd like a Manhattan for the holidays. That's where you get the Cran Hatton. There's a chapter for takes on eggnogs and cobblers. What's a cobbler, you say? We will find out. Carrie Jones and John McCarthy join me to talk about their book Every Cocktail Has a Twist. Thank you for being with us. And sorry about the mistook of their names. I ran from studios and didn't have a chance to settle down. I'm here now.

[Listener Support]

No problem.

[Carrie Jones]

Thanks so much for having us.

[Listener Support]

Thanks for having us.

[Alison Stewart]

So this is the second book you've written together. Your first was Be youe Own Bartender. Carrie. How does this book build on the last one?

[Carrie Jones]

Well, our last book was a really fun journey through cocktails through the lens of flowcharts. We like to call it the world's first Flowchart cocktail book. And so that was a book where you could turn to the whiskey chapter or the Rum chapter. And you're presented with a series of questions. Do you want to drink I in April or one in December? Is it for you? Is it for a party? Things like that. And so it was really developed for the home bartender. Everything we do is. And it was all about getting you to a drink that you knew you would like. And in a way, this book very much picks up that theme. It's centered around 25 classic cocktails. Some of them are classics in the kind of bar nerd traditional sense, like the martini in Manhattan. Others are just things people enjoy drinking, like a Bloody Mary or as you said, an espresso martini. Very popular right now. And people tend to know if there's one drink or another they favor. And so the idea of this book is that you can go to a drink you're familiar with, really learn about it, learn how to perfect it, and then there'll be five or eight or 12 other drinks that you'll probably like quite a bit too.

[Alison Stewart]

John, you started the book with the essential tools you need to make drinks. Okay, let's start on the budget. Let's say you have a budget, you got a small space. What are some absolute essentials?

[Listener Support]

Well, the thing we think is essential is to start with a drink that you know you like and get the booze for that. A lot of times when people are setting up their home bar, you get one of everything and then you end up not using it. It takes up space, it's expensive. So what we say is, if you're a margarita drinker, explore tequila. Find tequilas that you like, find orange liqueurs that you like. The important thing there is fresh juice.

[Alison Stewart]

Yes, you are a fresh juice advocate.

[John McCarthy]

Explain why.

[Listener Support]

Absolutely.

[Alison Stewart]

Explain why for somebody's like, hey, I don't have time. Make the case.

[Listener Support]

If it's from concentrate and it's been pasteurized, it's not going to have the fresh, bright acidity that really lifts the cocktail and makes it vibrant.

[Alison Stewart]

You also have a list of tools that are. You say are nice to have. Why is an ice bag and a.

[John McCarthy]

Mallet that's on your list nice to have?

[Listener Support]

Well, they're fun when you can. You can take a little canvas bag, fill it up with ice, take a mallet, and just smash at it. I mean, it's kind of therapeutic and lots of fun. And then you can have, you can make a snow cone basically inside your glass that then you fill up with your cocktail carrier.

[Carrie Jones]

And that's especially. And that's especially great for drinks like juleps or Cobblers, where you want that kind of crushed ice without having to pull out a machine or go to a specialized shop, you can just kind of whack away and get all the. All the crushed ice you want.

[Alison Stewart]

Carrie, what is your secret weapon?

[John McCarthy]

The thing you use over and over?

[Carrie Jones]

Oh, my goodness. In the drinking world, probably champagne, but I don't think that's a weapon. I think it's just what I tend to open over and over in cocktails. I am absolutely obsessed with sherry. I think it's one of the most underappreciated cocktail ingredients out there. There are a lot of different kinds of sherry. Some are lighter and drier than even the driest white wine. Some are much richer, have so much complexity. And it's the sort of thing where just half an ounce or an ounce can totally transform a drink and add so much nuance and sophistication. Um, I also like just drinking them, but any. Any cocktail on a menu with sherry in it. I'm gonna order.

[John McCarthy]

We're getting a lot of eggnog questions, so here's the first one. Love eggnog, but want to hear how your guests deal with the raw eggs?

[Listener Support]

Well, the first rule of eggs is, when you open an egg, if it smells bad or looks bad, don't use it.

[Carrie Jones]

Basic but true.

[Listener Support]

It's really basic but true. A lot of classic cocktails use egg egg white. And we all. We've all been drinking eggnog from the store. It's just we're making it fresh without the added pasteurization, so it's a lot lighter and livelier.

[John McCarthy]

Is there a safety issue at all?

[Carrie Jones]

No more than there would be for a Caesar salad dressing, for example. I mean, I think, you know, depending on the state you're in, you may have to put one of those warning labels that says may cause foodborne illness. But there are lots and lots of contexts in cooking where you do use raw eggs or raw egg yolks. I think the thing to really remember in the context of eggnog is we're going to either whip it so well or blend it so well in a blender that the egg is fully emulsified, kind of fully dissolved within that drink. Because if you think of raw egg, you're probably not wanting to get just, like, that little bit of eggy texture. You know, I think it's the thought of raw egg that kind of puts people off.

[John McCarthy]

We are.

[Carrie Jones]

So if you make sure it's fully incorporated, that's a great trick.

[John McCarthy]

What's a way someone can juzh up eggnog.

[Carrie Jones]

Oh, we have so many ideas.

[Listener Support]

So many. Fruit liqueur.

[Carrie Jones]

Fruit liqueur is a great one. One of our favorite recipes in this book we call Run Run Rudolph. And the idea is it's what Santa really wants when he's stopping by your house instead of a glass of milk. And it's a combination between eggnog and an Irish whiskey. So it's an eggnog topped off with. With both. Irish. Sorry, an Irish coffee. So it's both Irish whiskey and a little bit of coffee liqueur. And it's a little bit energizing. It's really satisfying. That's an absolutely great one.

[Listener Support]

Put a little pep in your step and kind of chill you out a little bit at the same time.

[John McCarthy]

Love the Run Run Rudolph.

[Carrie Jones]

All right.

[Alison Stewart]

In your book, you all write choose the right drinks for parties. And you talk about batching. First of all, what is batching? And what are some drinks that lend themselves to batching?

[Carrie Jones]

So batching is just bartender parlance for making a bunch of it in advance. And so when you think about throwing a cocktail party, sometimes what people end up doing is there's a drink they're familiar with. They're used to making one or two at a time. But if you're suddenly making ten at a time, you find yourself stuck behind the bar, which is not where you want to be at an event you want to be at with your guests. So there are quite a number of drinks in this book where we develop recipes to make them ahead of time. So really, all you have to do in the moment is pour them out and garnish.

[Listener Support]

And the key ingredient when you're batching is adding water. When you're stirring individual cocktails or shaking individual cocktails, you're putting about an ounce of water of ice melt into the drink, which opens up the. Opens up the drink, adds subtlety and flavor. And so when you're batching, you need to make sure you add that water or the drinks are going to be pretty stiff and unbalanced.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's take a call.

Lindsay is calling from Bedford, New York. Hi, Lindsay.

Thanks for calling all of it. You're on the air.

What's your question?

[Lindsay]

Hi, we are sort of a ginger beer obsessed household. My teenager drinks it straight. I tend to go for Moscow Mule. My husband loves a dark and stormy. What else can we do with our love of ginger beer?

[Carrie Jones]

Oh, man, that's an awesome question. We are huge fans of ginger beer. The amazing thing about ginger is it pairs well with almost any Spirit. So, you know, as you said, with vodka in a Moscow mule, dark rum with a dark and stormy. One of our favorites from this, from this time of year is using applejack, which is a kind of apple brandy. The iconic brand actually comes from New Jersey, from Monmouth County. It's called Laird's, and it's been around since before America was a country. It was actually federal distilling license number one. And if you haven't had it before, if you kind of imagine a bourbon with the character of an apple orchard, that's what applejack tastes like. It's delicious. Delicious. And so just that with ginger beer, maybe a slice of lemon, maybe a little sprig of rosemary is just a fabulous two ingredient and really, really delicious fall. Fall. Winter drink.

[John McCarthy]

Ah, on behalf of New Jersey, you're welcome, everybody. Love that, the whole state.

[Alison Stewart]

How would you use as a question.

[John McCarthy]

A text, how would you use Mezcal in a seasonal cocktail?

[Carrie Jones]

That's a great question.

[Alison Stewart]

Any.

[Carrie Jones]

I was about to say anywhere you can use tequila, you can use Mezcal, but that isn't quite true. The thing to remember about Mezcal is that there's just this really powerful smoky flavor that'll be a big part of the cocktail. So I would say if you take a winter, if you take a margarita with winter flavors in it, such as cranberry, blood orange, and you swap out the tequila for Mezcal in there, you're going to have a really delicious drink.

[Listener Support]

And also say making a Mezcal mule with the ginger beer we were just talking about would be fantastic.

[John McCarthy]

See? Synergy. There you go. Let's talk to Jim from Rockland County. Hi, Jim. Thanks for calling all of it.

[Jim]

Hi, good afternoon. I have a very good friend and he's pretty knowledgeable about liquor and he had an opinion, which he shared with me, that when you're making a Manhattan, which is a great and important drink, he recommended that you buy and use low end rye suburbans, you know, not high label brands. He felt that the lower graded Manhattan with rye bourbon with low labels, so to speak, as opposed to your pricier brands, made for a better Manhattan. So I always wondered about that and finally get to ask some experts.

[John McCarthy]

Thanks for calling in.

[Listener Support]

Well, I agree with your friend. Bourbon's not supposed to be expensive and now you can spend a lot of money on it if you want. But there are brands that are not, you know, rock gut, kind of low, low level, but really great brands that aren't very expensive, that taste like bourbon. One of my favorite brands that I work with, work behind the bar all the times is Evan Williams. The important thing is the, the proof of it. It's 86 proof, so it has a little bit of a punch, but there's no need to spend a fortune to make a Manhattan. You might want to get that expensive whiskey and just pour it neat and put a little drop of water in it and just sip it slowly and contemplate the fabulousness of your whiskey, Jim.

[John McCarthy]

I hope that helped you out. Here's a batch someone texted us. My favorite is to batch Negronis. One bottle of each sweet vermouth, Campari and gin. Set it out with a bowl of oranges and boom, a bunch of happy drunk people. Someone else also can't really disagree with that drink responsibly. Also love mezcal gin split on most gin cocktails. That's really interesting.

[Carrie Jones]

That is really interesting. The one thing we would say about pre batch drinks like Negronis, not that there's anything wrong with a bunch of happy drunk people, but to just give people guidance for what constitutes a portion size. I think sometimes if people see something in a punch bowl or a pitcher, there's the tendency to think you're supposed to pour a big cup full of it. We've had issues with this in the past. So a Negroni should be a three ounce drink because it's all booze.

[Listener Support]

We'd hate for there to be a stack of solo cups next to a punch bowl of Negronis and people filling up 16 ounce Negronis throughout the evening.

[Carrie Jones]

That sounds just professionally.

[Listener Support]

Yeah, that's a lot of Negroni.

[John McCarthy]

That sounds bad on many levels. Personally, professionally. Let's talk to Jay from Plainfield, New Jersey. Hi, Jay. Thanks for calling all of us.

[Jim]

Sure. So I recently discovered a wonderful cocktail called a Pisco Sour at a Peruvian restaurant. And I'm wondering if that recipe, which calls for an egg white, would translate nicely into a margarita.

[Carrie Jones]

Oh, wow.

[Listener Support]

Yeah. I mean, absolutely. First of all, Pisco sour is a fantastic drink. And have you, have you made those at home yet?

[John McCarthy]

Have you tried? Oh, I think we lost. I think Jay's just listening. He's taking his call.

[Listener Support]

Well, if you do make it at home, it's a great drink to make. And I just wanted to let you know that if you do half lemon juice and half lime juice, that's going to get you close to what it would taste like, I have to say.

[Carrie Jones]

But in terms of making it something closer to the margarita, both the Pisco sour and the margarita kind of fall into the broader category of Sours, as the drink category is known. And so there is a lot of similarity between those two drinks. And if you just did pisco in the proportions that you would do tequila for a margarita, you're going to have a drink that kind of straddles the two and should be absolutely delicious.

[John McCarthy]

So you have a whole chapter on hot toddies. It's definitely hot toddy weather. I made one on Sunday, but you have a whole different bunch of them. Time for hot toddy that's friendly and boozy. Our classic toddy that tastes like an orchard Jack rose toddy featuring that apple Jack you mentioned with a smoky scotch accent. The co toddy. What is another way that we can make our toddies interesting?

[Carrie Jones]

There are so many. The classic toddy, which is just whiskey or brandy with honey, lemon and hot water is one of those just really soothing, perfect winter drinks. But there's so many spirits that work beautifully with hot water. One really fun one we do in the book is with barrel aged gin and BlackBerry jam. And when you stir the jam into the hot water, it kind of dissolves into this really rich fruity syrup. And the gin, the barrel aged gin adds some great weight to it. That's an amazing one. We do another one with Laphroaig Scotch, a really intense Isla Scotch, which we cut with a bit of Amontillado sherry. And so that has some of the extremely intense aromatics of, of a highly peated scotch but with something more mellow to cut it. So those are two really fun drinks.

[Listener Support]

And I would say adding Amaros like Campari and the like into your hot toddy will give you. It has a little bit of sweetness in it, will have some bitterness and some, some subtle nuance as well.

[Alison Stewart]

That was my conversation with Carrie Jones and John McCarthy, bartenders and authors of the book. Every cocktail has a twist and that is all of it for this hour. After the news, we'll talk about some cooking with kids. We'll hear some performances from high schoolers who up the mantle as the next generation of jazz musicians. And we'll hear some danceable music from Tunisian musician Noor Harkati. That's all coming up after the news.

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