Be Extra Careful With Your Bar

One of the topics that we like to spend extra time discussing is the bar; people tend to think they’d be better off buying their own liquor, or have issues with A.L.E and liquor licenses…

Serving alcohol at your event adds a certain number of concerns, so we thought we’d address some of them:

Does Your Caterer Have A Liquor License?

Where will your event or party be taking place? It is important to confirm that your event or party site will allow alcohol on its premises. Once you have made certain that you can serve alcohol at your chosen site, ask your caterer if he or she holds a liquor license.

Even with a licensed caterer/venue, the A.L.E may still require a police officer on the premises (if your event is outdoors) and one thing that is very peculiar: your guests are not allowed more than 15 feet away from the tent with their drinks.

Bartenders

Prepare to provide a guest estimate for your caterer to work with. The caterer in turn will supply you with a quote for the number of bartenders that must attend bar and the quantity of ice, glasses, and mixers necessary. We’ll discuss bar setup in a second.

You may want to have two guest counts – one for food and one for the bar, if a large number of guests wont drink. The amount of bartenders depends on the number of guests. Figure on one bartender for every 50 people served. Your caterer will determine the appropriate number of staff.

Cash / Open / Limited Bar

A cash bar requires the guest to pay for their drinks. Guests tend to consume less alcohol when it isn’t free. If that’s too extreme for you, some caterers allow you to customize your bar, and you could have free beer and wine and charge for the liquor. Talk about it!

Some people tend to be believe it’d be cheaper to stock the bar themselves. We dont argue with that logic, but we always point out that you, your family, or your guests shouldn’t be worrying about buying ice and lemons an hour before the event.

And the list for a bar setup is not short either:

Beer – Total 9 cases

* Domestic 3 cases
* Imported 3 cases
* Lite 3 cases

Wine – Total 5-8 Cases

* Chardonnay 3-4 Cases
* White Zinfandel 1-2 Cases
* Cabernet Sauvignon 1-2 Cases

Champagne

1-2 Cases

Hard liquor

* Vodka 5 liters
* Gin 3 liters
* Rum 2 liters
* Scotch 2 liters
* Bourbon 2 liters
* Vermouth 750ml
* Kahlua 3 liters

Others to Consider: (l liter of each)

* Bailey’s Irish Cream
* Grand Marnier
* Amaretto
* Sambuca
* Brandy
* Frangelico
*Chambord

If you are responsible for setting up the entire bar, be sure to include the following:

Ice
Coolers for beer,etc
Glassware
Lemons
Limes
Cherries
Olives
Lime juice
Lemon mix Milk
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Soda water
Tonic water
Coke, diet coke
Seven up, ginger ale
Straws
Cocktail stirrers

Is it worth doing it all yourself? Maybe. But there are easier ways. Talk to your caterer about customizing this process, they should be flexible enough to give you options.

Hope this helps. Leave any questions you may have, we’ll try to answer them all.

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