Keep a bottle of Manhattans or martinis in the fridge for cocktails on tap.
, Sazeracs, and Vieux Carres — any drinks that don't involve juice or fizzy mixers. They all become one-step stirred cocktails.
"People marvel to this day at how we are able to crack out that many cocktails at that high quality over and over," he says. "We were mixing shelf-stable ingredients that didn't go bad, which gave us extra time to do gorgeous garnishes. We increased output, saved time, and brought in more revenue."."I designed these boxes that we filled with crushed ice," explains Beattie.
The first thing that goes in the glass is the pre-batched base cocktail. Next goes the ice and beautiful; once those are ready, the servers grab trays and form a line. Sixteen to twenty servers all standing with a tray that has six or eight drinks on it, and each server would make two complete trips of handing out drinks to the first rush of people — who would be"stoked to have a pretty-looking cocktail" — and it killed the opportunity for a line to form out the gate.
Although batching dramatically sped up service for weddings and events, others in the craft industry in high-volume bars began tapping cocktails to keep up with demand. The trick for a successful tap program, just as in batching, is not to use ingredients that degrade quickly—like fresh citrus, which oxides quickly.
With the events and weddings he oversees as with any event during which a cocktail is to be served, Beattie says the ultimate goal is to make the cocktail process seem natural. "You're not supposed to wait in a long line. Someone should walk up to you with a tray of beautiful cocktails. In the era of Instagram and TikTok, you must create systems that allow this to be done as efficiently and beautifully as possible," he explains.