Ina Garten's Best Cocktail Tips To Get Your Friends Elegantly Buzzed

"I've never known a party that wasn't improved with really good cocktails," says celebrity chef Ina Garten, and that, friends, epitomizes her philosophy about cocktails and parties in a nutshell. Despite being known for the cheeky sense of fun she brings to her network TV show, behind the scenes, Garten is the ever practical one when it comes to planning a party. Her how-easy-is-that approach to entertaining influences both the way she cooks and the way she mixes up cocktails.

For example, she'll use bottled cranberry juice in her cosmopolitans and yet, she insists on adding fresh-squeezed lime juice in her margaritas because the fresh stuff beats out the taste of the bottled sour mix any day. And she thinks nothing of making an entire pitcher of whisky sours (or what have you) because making drinks in the convenient economy size means that she gets to spend more time hanging out with party guests instead of being cooped up in the kitchen. 

Of course, as most of her fans know, her desire for frivolity is always balanced by her simple, yet elegant touch. Garten likes to serve drinks in martini glasses because they taste better, and maybe also because they're a throwback to the cocktail parties of the 1950s that she loves so much. The result of her handy work is a party that flows with elegant conversations created by elegantly buzzed guests. Here's the scoop on how creates her own special brand of party buzz.

These days, it's nothing to hear business gurus talk about the techniques they use to scale up their businesses. When celeb chef Ina Garten makes a pitcher of whisky sours with lemon juice, she's doing the same thing: Scaling up. The Barefoot Contessa has said that the point of cocktail parties is for friends to drink together. In light of that, knowing how to bulk up a drink recipe is vital skill for any Ina Garten-esque home bartender in training.

For consistency's sake, consult a bar drink book when you're scaling up a cocktail recipe, particularly if you usually just eyeball alcohol measurements when you make a single drink. Cocktail recipe books include exact measurements, which are easier to batch up than a pour-by-eye-and-intuition approach to mixology. This means that you must know how to convert recipe measurements. For example, it's the four-tablespoons-equals-one-quarter-of-a-cup kind of thing. Online measurement converters make this job easier, though if you're old school and like to do your calculations in long form like Sheldon Cooper, you can certainly find cookbooks and recipe books with conversion charts, too.

Many mixologists make margaritas with bottled sour mix, but not the Barefoot Contessa. Instead, she uses freshly squeezed lime juice, enhanced with a little lemon juice for extra kick. The fresh juice "makes all the difference," in the drink, according to Garten. Granted, bartender types use drink mixes because they're convenient when time is of the essence, and it does take time to make freshly squeezed lime juice. However, there is a compromise you can make that the Barefoot Contessa herself employs from time to time: Make the juice ahead of the party and stash it in the fridge until you're ready to make the cocktails. 

Fresh juice stays at its best if it's stored in the fridge for three days or less. This time window preserves both the nutritional value as well as the juice's taste. And here's one final note — be sure to cover the juice to prevent it from taking on any other flavors from inside refrigerator.

To ice or not to ice, that is the question for the average bar customer and cocktail party guest, and naturally, the Contessa has her own pronouncement on ice in drinks: "How you dilute the drink makes all the difference in how it tastes." Some drinkers may balk at this. Melting ice dilutes the strength of the alcohol, too, after all.

However, this isn't all bad. Experienced cocktail makers think of ice as another ingredient in their best drink recipes, so it appears Garten is on to something here. Some drinks, including some wines, actually taste better once the ice starts to melt. Even the shape of the ice matters in terms of how quickly it melts, which also affects the taste. Harsher flavors mellow out and the drink starts to taste yummy and enticing when it gets the right ice treatment.

It's also worth mentioning that the presence of ice alone doesn't ensure a cold drink. The melting ice cools the drink, which is why the Barefoot Contessa tells her followers to start with room temperature alcohol. Cold alcohol doesn't dilute quite like warmer spirits do. Some modern mixologists are even taking this principle a step further by intentionally adding flavored ice to their drinks. The more the ice melts, the more the taste of the drink changes, so the cocktail you get on first sip is different than the one you experience on the tenth, the twelfth, and so on.

If you want to get a good chill going on your cocktail, give it a shake for about 30 seconds. If that seems like a long time to jiggle around the ice in your cocktail shaker, remember that you're shaking with the best of them. The Barefoot Contessa herself insists that her mixed drinks must be given a good 30-second shake to be worth drinking.

So what's with all this rattling and shaking your drinks, anyway? Stirring does chill a drink, but not to the degree that shaking a drink with plenty of ice will. Think of it this way. A drink you shake for 30 seconds is equivalent to a cocktail you stir for 90 to 120 seconds in terms of chill factor.

There is another reason that some drinks are better shaken and not stirred. Shaking a drink ensures that it's more diluted. It also pumps the drink full of air bubbles, giving it a cloudy appearance — and for the record, that's cloudy as in dreamy, as opposed to cloudy like foggy, which isn't good at all. All of this begs the question, if drinks are so much better when they're shaken, then why stir them at all? It seems that drinks with clear liquids are supposed to look, well, clear, in which case they're better served with just a good stir. However, drinks filled with yummies, like cream, citrus juice, or milk, get a good shake instead.

If you're planning a party à la Ina and think that it's outside your budget, just remember this: The Barefoot Contessa has a little secret that'll make at least one of your drinks more affordable. Use cheap tequila for your margaritas, not the stuff that looks like it's made from liquid gold, and you'll have at least one drink that's both tasty and budget-friendly come your next cocktail party. This little trick, she learned from experience.

It's not just using plain ol' cheap tequila that makes for better 'ritas come play day. Like most mixologists, Garten fills her margaritas with plenty of the limey good stuff. The real secret to their depth of flavor, however, lies in juice from a single lemon that she pours into her margarita mix. Each citrusy cousin brings something specific to the flavor profile of the drink. Limes are known for their slightly bitter flavor. Lemons, though similar to limes, have a sweeter, brighter flavor than their green counterparts do. This brings light and refreshing flavor notes to this popular mixed drink. And if you want a real sweetheart of a margarita, try rubbing the rim with lemon and sugar instead of lime and salt for an after dinner sweet treat.

Unless you're a homegrown master mixologist or a bartender by profession, you may not routinely chill your cocktail glasses. However, if you're trying to turn yourself into the next Ina Garten, you probably should. This is a cocktail party hack she swears by. Cool drinks stay chilled longer when you employ this trick. You don't even have to chill them for long. Garten herself recommends 30 minutes in the freezer before cocktail partying commences, though it's perfectly fine to leave them in the icebox for longer.

If you'd like to freeze your bar glasses before your next shindig, you'll need to take a couple of steps. First, it's a good idea to clear out your freezer so that they can stand upright in the cooler without crowding. Second, it's also important to start with glasses that are room temperature instead of glasses that you've taken straight out of the hot dishwasher. Aside from taking longer to chill, the thermal shock from going from the metaphoric Sahara to the frozen ice of the Arctic Circle may be enough to crack the glasses. Prevent this by giving them some chill-out time on the counter before you chill them in the freezer.

Ina Garten is the make-it-ahead queen, so much so that she even named one of her books "Make It Ahead." Nothing, not even a pitcher of libations, is off limits when it comes to party prep. If she can make an item ahead of a celebration, the Barefoot Contessa will. This includes making sangria and cranberry martinis by the pitcher-full to get the job done. And while there's something to be said for making pitchers of drinks and letting them rest in the fridge for 24 hours or so, Garten is so good at prepping ahead that drinks, like her cranberry martinis, can hunker down in the chillbox for up to a week. 

Do be aware that some cocktails survive the fridge better than others, which means that, by extension, those are the ones you should make ahead. Leave all the others for the day of the shindig. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is this: If you stir the drink instead of shaking it, then you can batch it and fridge it. These drinks consist mostly of ingredients like bitters, spirits, and sugar. Avoid putting cloudy drinks in the refrigerator for very long. Same goes for drinks with fizz, like club soda, in them. The cloudy drinks settle. The carbonated libations go flat. Spirited drinks with a little sugar, on the other hand, last forever in the fridge, or nearly so.

Sure, you can go out and buy a jar of maraschino cherries to make your cocktails look pretty, or you can take some inspiration from the Barefoot Contessa and make your own. Fortunately, this is easy. If you're making a pitcher of drinks, like sangria or cranberry martinis, you're halfway there. The fruit garnish you need is already marinating in the spirits.

Ina Garten doesn't throw those marinated cranberries, cherries, or bits of orange away. Instead, she pours her batch of drinks through a strainer, allowing the it to capture all that spirit-infused fruit. You can do the same. Remove the fruit from the strainer, then, put a spoonful of the soaked fruit in the bottom of the glass or on a toothpick on the side of the drink as a garnish. Because the fruit has been soaking in the spirits, it'll retain the extra flavor and be so delish to nibble on come drink time.

If you're marinating your own fruit for your next party, allow the fruit to soak in the spirits for at least two days, though up to four is common. Be aware, though, that there is such a thing as letting it marinate too long. A taste test will tell you if it's ready to be removed from the alcohol. Finally, lots of factors, including how ripe the fruit is, can affect how the infusion process goes, so you may want to test things a bit before the big day.

In these post-Pandemic days, many people have returned to the cocktail-party-in-person mode. However, in some instances, like virtual work team-building events, friends, family, and co-workers must still sip libations together from afar, and of course, the Barefoot Contessa has a great tip for that. Everyone should drink the same drink at the same time. 

This isn't to say that everyone needs to drink the same thing at the same time throughout the whole affair, but having at least one shared drink experience can create bonds over long distances. A bar book filled with recipes helps, too, because the ingredients are measured. This goes a long way toward ensuring that everyone has a similar taste experience. Or if you want to go a step above, reach out to one of the companies that put together cocktail hour kits, complete with cups and spirits samples, or that do a virtual cocktail mixology class to outfit your party. In the latter case, party guests can make the drinks together before settling down for a toast.

Ina Garten updated a quirky 1950s tradition during the Pandemic by making cocktails in the morning. In the 21st century, the three-martini lunch — that practice where a group of friends sat at leisure, sipped on 'tinis, and maybe chatted about business — has been tucked away in the annals of history. It wasn't until a video of the Barefoot Contessa, hiding behind an oversized martini glass filled with her favorite cosmopolitan recipe, went viral that people began to see the sense in having cocktails before sunset. Aside from bringing levity to a dour situation, Ina Garten reminded people, that cocktail parties don't have to take place at night. Saturday at midday or even a two-hour mid-week cocktail party on a Tuesday night is a perfectly good excuse to get caught up with friends.

Earmarking these "off hours" for cocktails clears up the excuse that many people cite these days, that they just don't have the time to see friends on the regular, so they don't have big dinner parties or cocktail hours. Weekend nights are for dates or even bigger parties, like weddings and graduations. Setting aside a couple of hours on a Saturday morning after 11:00 a.m. or two hours on a weeknight can sometimes be more doable for time-strapped party-goers. It's less stress on the host, too. These smaller chunks of time don't require you to follow formal dinner party etiquette. Cocktails and snacks are just fine for these shorter shindigs.

The Barefoot Contessa is nothing but methodical when she's cooking something for a party. Even now, after years of career success, she follows the recipes from her own cookbooks, which gives her recipes the precision of an atomic clock. And if you've watched any video clips of her making her favorite bar drinks, you'll notice that she still follows a recipe and even has measuring cups on the ready. 

In short, she always follows the recipe, even if she's pouring with friends. If you want the same results, take a note from Ina. Follow the recipe, particularly when you're making cocktails, because it's easy enough to get heavy-handed with the spirits as the party progresses. While such a practice might get you and yours good and tipsy, it also makes for inconsistent results. At some parties, your drinks will be utterly delish. At other parties, not so much. An elegant instead of accidental buzz starts with consistency and results in tasty drinks every time. 

To make a measured cocktail à la Ina, you need at least a jigger, which is that little metal bar thingy that has a bigger cup on the bottom and a smaller cup on top. You also need measuring cups. The larger side of the jigger is one-and-a-half ounces, while the other side is three-quarters of an ounce. Granted, the Contessa usually makes drinks in bulk, which is why she needs measuring cups, but you get the idea.

While some could argue that it's possible to create a party of one — just add spirits to cocktail mix and stir — this approach defeats the whole idea of a cocktail party as far as the Barefoot Contessa is concerned. You have cocktail parties so that you can hang out with friends and family. Making drinks hour after hour in the kitchen, while everyone gets toasted in the living room, goes counter to everything a good Ina cocktail party stands for.

This is part of the reason why she advocates prepping so much ahead of time and making drinks in batches. The more drinks you can make ahead and the more you do batches of drinks instead of singles, the more time you'll have to spend with your guests once cocktail hour commences. And the Contessa offers a surefire way to know if you've spent too much time in the kitchen once you do rejoin the party. You only have food and drink to talk about, instead of other more interesting topics, once you join conversations already in progress. In other words, by the end of the evening, you want to be just as elegantly buzzed as your friends are, or you've done cocktail-making and party planning all wrong. The best parties allow guests to fraternize with the host. Keep that in mind, and your party will be a success.