It is undeniable that the craft cocktail movement is here. Individual drinks of fresh fruit juices, quality liquors and, in many cases, very precise measurements can be found all across the country. Just in New Orleans, you’ll be able to track down such drinks at bars in pretty much every section of the city and just as many restuarants. But as people continue to dig into the history of cocktails, they begin to realize that punches really paved the way. And I’m not talking those frat party Jungle Juice concotions, but real honest to goodness, tasty punches. Only problem is people are so particular and individual that making large punches for the entire bar probably wouldn’t go over that well these days.
So what’s the next logical step? It’s got to be bridging the gap between single drinks and the massive punches. Something for more than one, but not quite everyone in the bar. Enter the pitcher. Typically associated with margaritas, sangria and daquiris, the pitcher is about to get a bit more classic. Like most cocktail trends, this one is already starting to make the rounds in NYC. Will it stick? If so, how long before we see it here and which of our cocktail bars will be the first to take up banner?
To learn a bit more about the pitcher movement in NYC, check out this post by Robert Simonson.
Is it about quality or is it about charging more for quantity?
All depends Bob. The larger size of the mixture will be more forgiving to any error in proportions. That will allow a slightly less exact to pass better than it would single drink would. On the flip side, with more space you’ve got more ingredients that you can play with, thereby expanding the playground of the talented. How they choose to use the pitcher is up to each establishment, and I’m sure you can probably answer that question for any place you are familiar with.
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The concept of ‘pitchers’ is very far from the next ‘new’ thing (it’s very old in fact). I can’t say that I am fond of the idea, I do own a bar (Cocktail Royale) and I don’t see that being much of a ‘winner’ at my location. Once again the type of bar is of question – like pitchers of beer work in a sports bar, small punches could work in the same location.
Of course it isn’t some new idea, just like craft cocktails weren’t new when they burst on to the scene. I was rather referring to “new” as a return to the public consciousness. What kind of bar is the Cocktail Royale? What kind of pitcher drinks are you making?