Summertime and the living can be just that little bit easier with pitcher cocktails.
Whether you’re mixing up a batch of margaritas for friends in your backyard or ordering a round of mai tais for the table, pitchers are a quick and easy way to rethink your drink for a crowd.
At Spoonbar in the wine country town of Healdsburg, Calif., bar manager Scott Beattie knew early on that he wanted to serve cocktails by the pitcher. So he ordered a Kold-Draft ice cube machine capable of making big, dense cubes that keep drinks cold without diluting them.
It’s also efficient. With the cubes and a really big shaker, “it takes just about as long to make one drink as it does to make five,” he points out.
The drinks are shaken, strained and poured into a pitcher ready to go.
Customers bellying up to Beattie’s bar have an interesting option. They can trade in fruit from their backyards for restaurant credit.