It can be incredibly frustrating when you’re at an event and there isn’t the right drink option. It could be that you just want an evening without alcohol or you need wine after a long week, and then the event fails to have that drink. The disappointment can be palpable. If you are organising an event it can be just as difficult to curate a drink selection for guests to avoid this. To help with future events, and to avoid the disappointment of your guests we have collected 8 must have drink options for your next event.
1. Wine
An obvious place to start would be to ensure that your event has wine. As you probably know, wine is great for events for various reasons. Firstly, most people enjoy wine, at least in South Africa. Buying wine by the bottle or case makes providing a sufficient amount for your event really simple. The key is just to make sure you have a good variety of options from Sauvignon Blanc to Syrah and at the very least a red and a white option.
2. Water
The next key drink option you need to have is water. Water is helpful for multiple reasons. For one, it keeps people alive. Secondly, it provides a drinking option for people who don’t drink alcohol. Thirdly, it can help sober people up or protect them from a nasty hangover.
An important aspect about having water is that it should be bottled water and there should be still and sparkling options. The reason for this obviously is that people have a choice but also because at an event you may not know the details of the tap water quality and providing bottled water will ensure that your guests are adequately catered for.
3. Beers and ciders
Once you have the water and the wine sorted, the next stop is to have beer and ciders. Often at an event the simplest option is the most effective one. Beers and ciders tend to be lower in alcohol than wine or spirits and while a beer will work for most men at an event, ciders will provide for those who can’t or don’t drink beer. They are also affordable options when planning the event, but you are not limited to the affordable options and for a more upmarket event you can’t go wrong with a craft beer or cider.
4. Cold drinks
Something you have to provide for at events is people that do not drink. There are a large number of people that do not drink alcohol for religious or personal reasons. To have an accessible event, you will need to have a variety of cold drinks on hand. Learning how to make events more accessible is rightfully becoming a more important aspect of event management.
5. Gin
Once you have sorted the basic drink options for your event, you are going to want to focus on drinks for specific aspects of the occasion such as a welcome drink or nightcap. If you are looking for a welcome drink, what better drink is there to kick off an event than Gin and tonic? If you are having an evening event you can offer your guests a G&T as they arrive adding to the luxury of the affair. You can’t go wrong by handing out gin to your guests as they watch the sunset before an evening of festivities. There are few incredible local and international gin options available.
6. Liqueurs
You have now sorted the entrance to your event, the drinks for the proceedings are sorted, we now need to turn our attention to the end of the evening. To end off the evening, you are going to need something that can cleanse the pallet or provide an extra sense of luxury to the night. To provide for that, you are going to want to make sure you have liqueur options at the bar. These can also be great options for the start of the event, with options like Amarula as the sun sets. Liqueur options are something you do not want to forget.
7. Brandy & Whisky
If you want to add even more luxury to your event, you should add brandy and whiskey as an option at the bar. A high quality brandy or whisky is the perfect way to end an evening, as your guests savour their time enjoying their company for the night.
8. Hot Drinks
An important option that is incredibly easy to forget is tea and coffee. When the event is drawing to a close, many guests will have a trip to get home or if the event is in winter they will need something to warm them up. Tea and coffee will help provide for those needs, while also just providing for guests that really like tea or coffee.
Supply your next event
We hope this list has helped you plan what drinks you need for your next event and why. If you need to supply your next event in bulk, or to source speciality drinks we can help. Just order what you need online, and you can choose to pick it up or have it delivered.