As a host/ess, one of the most stressful facets to throwing a party is making sure your booze repertoire never runs dry. There is always that one guy or gal (or two or three...) that thinks it’s Spring Break circa 1999 and chugs drinks all night long. Try these tricks for stretching out your organic libations and making them last until your last guest tips their glass to you. 

Make a Specialty Cocktail: By mixing up an organic cocktail du jour you can get away without having every single type of alcohol. For the holidays, try this vodka based drink with equal parts alcohol, cranberry juice, and ginger ale. Top with fresh, organic cranberries and serve. You can also try mixers - one of our favorites is Modmix. Or Sangria anyone?

Serve a Hot Drink: Get in the holiday spirit with a warm organic drink like mulled wine or hot apple cider. Since it’s hot, people will sip rather than gulp for less refills.

Make Sure There is Plenty of Ice: Ice can be your party buddy. Sure people will drink their cocktails faster but since the cups are packed with ice they are filling up with less liquid. Plus, the ice will water down drinks throughout the night.

Add Fruit: It’s festive, pretty, and yummy. Tossing organic fruit into a cocktail will act as a filler. But since the fruit is getting soaked in booze and they can eat it, your guest won’t mind.

Serve Food: Pack their tummies with more than alcohol. The more they eat, the less they’ll drink. Also, it’s a good idea to provide organic munchies so people aren’t drinking on an empty stomach.

Buy Boxed: If money is an issue - as it tends to be these days - and you know you’re buying a bunch of wine, you may want to opt for a boxed version. It’s more eco-friendly and often comes in 3 liter boxes. You can also save money when you buy cheaper brands. If you’re embarrassed, pour the wine or alcohol into decorative pitchers and no one will know the difference, unless you have some serious oenophiles present. 

Use Tall, High Cups: People pour 20% to 30% more alcohol into short, wide glasses than into tall, narrow glasses of the same volume.

Rely on Your Guests: Remember those little things called host/ess gifts? They often come in the form of wine so don’t go overboard at the liquor store if you know your guests are nice enough to BYOB (in the form of a gift, of course).

Wondering how much booze to buy? Plug in a few numbers to That’s the Spirit’s Drink Calculator and let it do the work for you.

image: divya_