What alcohol should I choose to provide?

Full Bar

Every party can have a full bar.

Smaller party = smaller bottles of a variety of liquors, maybe even a few minis/nips, but no reason not to have a full bar!  

A full bar consists of:

• tequila

• gin

• vodka

• white rum

• spiced rum

• whiskey/bourbon/scotch (one or one of each)

• a variety of liqueurs*

  • triple sec (Cointreau)

  • amaretto (DíSaranno)

  • apertivo (Aperol or Compari)

  • irish cream (Baileys)

  • coconut rum (Malibu)

  • coffee rum (Kahlúa)

  • schnapps (Peachtree)

• maybe a brandy/cognac (Grand Marnier)

*The liqueurs will vary depending on your guest's drink profile & signature drink choices, but there is no limit to the variety of liqueurs you can offer since the bottles come in a variety of sizes. 

Most liquor/liqueur can be purchased in the following sizes:

• 50 mL: Mini/shot bottle (aka nips or hotel/airline bottles)

• 200 mL: Small flask size

• 375 mL: Half-bottle size

• 750 mL: Standard bottle (most bottles will be this size)

• 1 Liter (1L): Large bottle

• 1.75 Liter (1.75L): Magnum/party size (We do not recommend these as they are difficult to pour from at a fast paced service bar and have a larger diameter opening that will not fit the speed pourer spouts.  These are good, however, for making batched drinks when large amounts of liquor are needed).

You will also need to decide on the class/tier of liquor you wish to provide.  You can chose from well (cheapest) to call (mid-tier) to top-shelf/premium (most expensive) options.  With us, you can chose what you want and mix and match between the classes for the different type of liquors, for example, all call liquors, but a top-shelf bourbon or tequila.

Limited Bar

Typically, this means offering a curated selection of alcohol rather than a full open bar, such as providing beer, seltzers/RTD, wine, and signature drinks instead of a Full Bar. This approach helps control costs while still offering guests a variety of complimentary drinks.

Light Beer, Regular Beer, Craft Beer, & Dark Beer

You can not offer everything, so decide if you want to offer a large variety (though people have a hard time deciding what they want if given too many choices), or just a few of the time tested favorites.  Every crowd has a different "flavor" so it can be hard to tell what people will want to drink.  You should have a good idea of what is popular with your crowd, but if you don't, we can help you narrow it down.

Hard Seltzers & RTD Cocktails (Non-Beer Canned Drinks)

RTD stands for "Ready to Drink" Cocktails, and these are becoming ever popular options for non-beer drinkers.  There are 2 distinctions, carbonated & non-carbonated. Most are vodka based, some are tequila based, but they all are flavored liquors that come in a can.  The options for these are endless, but remember, people have a hard time deciding what they want if given too many flavor choices.

Red Wine, White Wine, & Sparkling Wine

Like liquor, wine also ranges in class/tier type and that will be the first thing you need to decide.  If offering wine, we recommend to have 2 red options and 2 white options. You can mix and match the class type, for example, have all mid-tier wines with 1 premium red offering, or have all premium wines.  We can help you determine these, or you can just go with our common standard order.  

One bottle of wine should pour out 5 equal glasses of wine, so we use that to calculate how many you will need to buy for your event. The amount of wine needed will also depend on the other drink options behind the bar, and of course whether or not your guests appreciate the wine being offered, as everyone has different wine standards.

Important:

Typically an "open-bar" serving liquor will not go through as much wine, RTD Cocktails, or beer for the simple fact that most people opt for the free liquor.  

If you are offering a Full Bar, offer less variety of wine and canned beverages!

Is there anything I need to do to prepare for the consultation?

If you know what you want to provide and how you want everything prepared, great.  If you do not, no problem; that is what we are here for.  We will send out an intake form prior to your consultation to get a general idea about your event.  Once we meet, if we need to meet again to clarify expectations and details, we are happy to do so.

Mostly what we will need to determine is the estimated number of guests, the bartender package budget, and the alcohol purchase budget.  It is also helpful to know the drinking characteristics of your crowd (bourbon drinkers, martini drinkers, beer drinkers, wine snobs, fraternity brothers, tea-totalers, recent college grads, etc).

Are you insured?

Yes, we are insured and can provide your venue a Certificate of Liability Insurance on request at no charge.

Can you list my venue as an additional insured?

Yes, and we do not charge an additional fee for this.  Just let us know the vendor name (usually they have a very specific way they want it worded), address, and email and we will have them added and send them proof of insurance.

Are your bartenders professionals?

Yes, all our bartenders have been professionally trained, are certified from The Cincinnati School of Bartending, and are either TIPS or SafeServe Alcohol trained.