Batch, Please: Holiday Cocktails Made Easy

When it comes to holiday hosting, there’s one trick we swear by every single season: batching cocktails. Whether you’re hosting a full house for Christmas, a casual holiday happy hour, or a cozy night in with friends, batching makes entertaining easier, smoother, and way more enjoyable.

We recently explored this during our Holiday Cocktail Lab with McClintock Distilling, and the takeaway was clear — great cocktails don’t have to mean playing bartender all night.

Why Batch Cocktails?

Batching cocktails simply means making them ahead of time in a larger format. The benefits are huge:

• More time with your guests (and less time shaking)

• Consistent, balanced drinks from first pour to last

• Easy scaling for gatherings of any size

• Less mess and stress behind the bar

It’s the difference between hosting and actually enjoying your own party.

How to Batch Cocktails Like a Pro

Using McClintock’s cocktail recipes as a base, here are a few simple rules we always follow:

1. Scale thoughtfully - Multiply each ingredient evenly, keeping ratios intact. Most spirit‑forward and lightly citrus cocktails batch beautifully.

2. Think about dilution - When you shake or stir a single cocktail, ice adds water. For batched cocktails, you’ll want to add a small amount of water up front so flavors stay balanced. (McClintock’s recipes make this step easy.)

3. Add citrus with intention - Fresh citrus is best added closer to serving time, or within a day of your event, to keep flavors bright.

4. Chill everything ahead of time - Batch, bottle, and refrigerate so your cocktails are cold and ready to pour.

👉 We’ve linked McClintock’s holiday cocktail recipes here, all designed to batch beautifully for effortless entertaining.

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The Perfect Bite: Kayla’s Holiday Sausage Rolls

Kayl's Holiday Sausage Rolls

Every great cocktail needs a great snack. One of our favorite pairings for batched holiday drinks is Kayla’s Holiday Sausage Rolls.

They’re warm, flaky, comforting, and perfect for feeding a crowd — exactly what you want on a holiday table.

👉 You can find the full recipe for Kayla’s Holiday Sausage Rolls linked here, making it easy to recreate this festive pairing at home.

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Host Smarter This Season

Batching cocktails lets you focus on what actually matters during the holidays — good food, good drinks, and time spent together.

Stock your bar, prep your cocktails ahead of time, enjoy every sip of the season (and pick up everything you need at Ando's). Cheers! 🥂🎄