I've been wanting to move away from the "lots of cans of beer" model for parties

That’s crazy talk. If you don’t have large quantities of beer then what will put in cups and throw golf balls into.

PGA and puddle water.

Mojitos
and/or caipirinhas. Not the easiest, but fun for guests to make, and in the summer they kick ass, deliciously.

. . . which drinks work at that quantity . . . ?

MARGARITAS!

Good ones. Let Bayless be your guide.

Also, nicely chilled Manhattans. Keep in the freezer until ready to pour.

Hmm... less complicated drinks sound like the key. I'd say dirty martinis or any sort of martinis are simple enough to scale upward without being cost prohibitive. Now, if you had access to a slushy-making machines, you could make frozen margaritas, and have all your guests engage in grade school memories after experiencing throat and brain freezes while maintaining a tequila induced buzz.

Basic proportions that work as you scale up for drinks that we like in the summer. For larger quantities, I reach for the two-cup measuirng cup and go at it. Yes, I still have a liver, call it genetics. I serve all of these up in chilled martini glasses except for the moscow mule, which we serve as a highball, lacking the copper mugs that are traditional.

margarita:

3 parts tequila (reposado preferred)
2 parts cointreau
1 part fresh-squeezed lime juice

sidecar:

3 parts brandy/rye/bourbon
2 parts cointreau/grand marnier
1 part lemon juice

whiskey sour:

5 parts bourbon
2 parts fresh lime juice
1 part simple syrup

brown derby:

4 parts bourbon
2 parts fresh grapefruit juice
1 part honey (the better the better)

moscow mule:

juice of several limes
bunch of vodka
some ginger beer

(I suggest 2-3 limes to 4 oz vodka to 1 12 oz bottle of gingerbeer, but it's best to taste as you go. serve on the rocks with a spear of cucumber for garnish.)

Tora Tora Tora:
Tastiest spiked punch ever, easily scaled up. For each "portion":1 can of frozen pink lemonade,instead of mixing with water fill the can once with vodka, fill it two more times with beer (or three).
Mmmm.

Well, the easiest way to move away from "lost of cans of beer" is to get a keg.

In any event, for cocktails, it is simplest and cheapest, if not classiest, to provide vodka and a variety of stuff to mix it with, binary style (like oj, cranberry, sprite, tonic, soda water, etc., etc.).

I feel that even if you want to provide more sophisticated stuff, this should be available, because a surprising amount of people will opt for the simple. This can also be expanded easily to incorporate rum, gin, etc.

To more sophisticated, you can pick up plastic on use martini glasses, and that can bring martinis and cosmos into play.

While I agree with Rick on the classic margarita proportions, I myself prefer less cointreau, and go for a 3-1-1 mix rather than a 3-2-1. The higher proportion of cointreau seems more necessary only when you're not using fresh limes.

I've been wanting to move away from the "lots of cans of beer" model for parties

Me thinks you just need to move away from the Miller Light. Bleech.

For mass distribution of booze at a party, you need to emphasize simplicity unless you want to play full-time bartender. Gin and tonics, rum and cokes etc. one par booze to three-four parts soda always works.

Daiquiris or their rhum agricole cousin, the 'ti punch.

2 oz. Rum/rhum agricole
Juice of 1/4 lime
Sugar/Cane syrup/Rose's lime juice (to taste).

If you're going with along's suggestion of mojitos and caipirinhas (sort of the cachaça version of the daiquiri), it's barely any work to do these drinks, too.

Tremendous rum advice can be found at the Ministry of Rum.

just to be a bit more clear, those basic potions/portions I offered are to be placed into a shaker with copious quantities of ice, shaken, and then strained into the afore-mentioned chilled up glasses.

Booze + mix always works great, too, especially when you can put together somethign that no one at the party has had before. Easiest way to do that is to put together simple syrups.

Ginger simple syrup + lemon juice + club soda + vodka is really good. The ginger will even mask the taste of slightly cheap vodka.

This is a little more complex, but easy to make if you make the mix ahead of time:

2 parts white rum
2 parts grapefruit juice
1 part lime juice
1 part allspice simple syrup
A few dashes of Fee's Orange Bitters

-- ACS

Start with some nice wine, a few fancy cocktails, maybe good martinis. Then, wheel out more sangria.

If you are getting that much beer, isn't it better to just get a keg? Isn't a keg better for the enviroment(Or are you going to recycle every last can)?

This is going to sound really gross, but you have to trust me on this. This is a huge party favorite around my parts. We call it the Pink Panty Dropper (classy, I know!)

The basic formula is as follows:

A case of cheap canned beer, 24 is good, but the even cheaper 30 case beers (Old Style, ect) work best for a larger batch

One bottle of vodka. Again cheap is perfectly fine.

3 cans of condensed, frozen pink lemonade.

I know, this sounds disgusting, and doesn't really alleviate the many cans of beer problem, but you have to believe me, this thing is delicious. It's VERY strong though. Two cups of this and your already going good. Again, it's not classy, but it gets a lot of people drunk for very cheap. I've always wanted to upscale the beverage with Stoly and a better beer, but why would you waste all that when the lemonade is pretty much gonna kill the flavor anyway. I don't like this beverage as much because it usually leads to a lot of very, very drunk people spilling all over the place.

Now my personal favorite when it's not a Blue Moon or Sam Adams night is Cranberry Martinis. Usually two bottles of Cranberry juice per bottle of vodka (the liter size vodka bottles) is perfect. The best part about these is that they are almost hangover proof. The cranberry juice has tons of antioxidants and naturally strengthens the digestive system.

Definitely Mojitos. In fact the traditional way to make them in Cuba is in a punchbowl. My recipe:

lots of mint
10 parts rum
3 parts fresh lime juice
2 parts sugar or simple syrup
club soda and ice to desired strength (allow for ice melt.)

If you can, get a decorative mexican ceramic bowl - rub the mint in it before adding the other ingredients.

Fun fact: "mojito" means roughly "little wet thing" in Spanish. It is cuban slang for a wet kiss.

Second the sangria suggestion.

Also, Ina Garten is always mixing up pitchers of cocktails on her show. Search under her name on foodtv.com and narrow to beverages. There are 40 listed, and though not all are cocktails, many are. She did lime daquiris recently that looked good.

I call the Tora Tora Tora or Pink Panty Dropper - the Strip & Go Naked! We add a can of sprite or 7up to the other ingredients.

1 beer
1 vodka
1 frozen lemonade
1 sprite

Oh, the good times had on these...

Oops. Turns out I can't spell daiquiri.

Totally unrelated, but I made these cookies yesterday. They were amazing--not super sweet, but lots of chocolate flavor. You should make them.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=2531&iSeason=8

It's very fratty, but if you can deal with that, jungle juice is your answer. The simplest way is just add a ton of red Kool-Aid mix to a ton of Everclear, but if you wanna spend more time and energy I've seen fancier recipes with real fruit and tastier juices. Went to a ton of college parties where they had that stuff in giant Gatorade drums with little faucets. It works like a charm.

One of the better parties I attended had the usual cans of beer, etc., but also had a table where guests could mix their own drinks. It included ingredients for mojitos, with instructions pasted on the wall.

The drink assembly table also served an important social function: "conveniently" mixing drinks at the same time as a great way to introduce yourself to that interesting someone...

I'd say listen to Rick on this. The Manhattan was also mentioned, but I wouldn't put it in the freezer first.

Another thing you can do is check out: David Wondrich's Drinks site on Esquire. The man knows his booze.

My tried-and-true, easy recipe for margaritas is this:

one can frozen limeade (concentrate)
one bottle of corona
one lime

Dump into bowl, refill limeade can with tequila, add to bowl, mix, and enjoy.

Very easy to scale up for parties, and will turn any family gathering into a series of escalating dares.

Forgot to add my name to the above corona-limeade-tequila margarita recipe. Sorry.

"Reverse Assignment Desk". I like this new euphemism for "bleg."

Aside from the fact that you're drinking ANY canned beer, it all depends on personal preference but here are my suggestions:

Easy to scale up for mass quantity:
Rum and Coke
Vodka and any fruit juice (carbonated is a nice touch) like cranberry, grapefruit, orange, etc..
Wine Spritzers (red wine and Sprite on ice), my favorite summer drink

Easy and possibly cheap:
Martinis of any variety
Mojitos
Whiskey of your choice and soda (though it's an injustice to not drink bourbon straight)
Gin & tonics with a slice of fruit in (any fruit)

I guess Mojitos and G&T are easy to scale up as well, but from my experience they aren't drunk in as large a quantity as the above.

I generally prefer individually made cocktails to pitcher drinks, but if you want to go that route I suggest checking out Food and Wine's 2008 Cocktail Guide. It includes a chapter on pitcher drinks; I tried out the Blackberry Caipirinha to take to a party this past weekend, and it went over very well. These drinks will stand out, at least, from the usual party punch.

That said, mixing drinks is fun! Learn a few you like, invest in quality ingredients (including the fruit juice; go fresh), and start shaking. A working bar makes a good conversational focal point at a party.

"lots of cans of beer"

Cans?

Cans of beer?!?! You drink beer out of cans? What kind of elitist scumbag are you? Do you have something against beverages with flavor???

Jeez even for those who aren't living here in latte-liberal land (the west coast) there's plenty of good beer to be had. Bitter beer, malty beer, refreshing beer. All of it made by small or mid-size companies, and all of it blessed with FLAVOR.

Get rid of that mass-produced crap. Go with a good ol' microbrew. And if you don't like all the containers, as has been said upthread, get a keg. You can get a pony keg if it ain't a big party.

But for cocktails -- get a nice big blender and whip up some tasty margaritas.

To really get the most bang for the buck and please those looking for sugar, Sangria is the way to go. Get a few gallons of two-buck-chuck, one bag of cane sugar, some peaches from Costco. Then, mix a 2 gallon bottle, 3 cans of peaches (pint size or so), plenty of sugar, let it sit all afternoon and evening, and serve. Delicious, and about 6 bucks per batch.

Drinks:
1 sugar
2 lemon and or lime
5 booze

ie:

Margarita
1 shot simple syrup
2 shots lime juice
4 shots tequila
2 shots triple sec (1/2 the proof of the tequila)

Makes 4 happy campers, and puts that crap they serve in bars to shame.

Or you can a hint from The Long Goodbye, and drink gin gimlets with Philip Marlowe and Linda Loring. 3 parts gin, one part Roses Lime Juice.

Yeah. Move away from the crappy, watery beer to good beer. Brooklyn Lager, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Anchor Steam Beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale... stuff like that.

Don't make cocktails yourself unless you really want to or if it's a theme party like Martini Night or Cinco de Mayo. Everybody has their own taste and drinks they prefer. Buy alcohol with mixers and let people serve themselves. Here are the standards for a party of about 15:

ALCOHOL
2 bottles of plain vodka
2 bottles of flavored vodka (suggestions: 1 raspberry and 1 citron)
2 bottles of Jack Daniels
2 bottles of tequila
some wine for anyone who prefers it

MIXERS
2 bottles of coke or diet coke
2 bottles of sprite
2 bottles of club soda
2 bottles of cranberry juice
2 bottles of margarita mix

Also, slice up some lemons and limes for garnish.

If you want to do a large container of one mixed drink, I would go with margaritas in the spring and summer and vodka or rum based punch in the fall and winter. Fancy cocktails don't work well in bulk in my experience.

I like to go with boxes of wine.

Mmm, so much mojito talk. And me still working.
If the the intent is to upscale your party without totally breaking the bank, self-mixing is absolutely the way to go, especially in the summer. I love mojitos, but some of my friends hate them. Those same friends love margaritas which I can't stand. Yet we are all happy with a couple of big bottles of vodka, tequila, and gin. Very, very happy.
In the fall/winter I must say that buttered rum and mulled wine make easy and classy (and relatively cheap) additions to the party mix. People who don't like rum or wine tend to still go for them, and you don't have to use expensive starters to make them fly.

I tend to make Margaritas with Trader Joe's Limeade + Tequila to taste.

One more thing. If you have gay friends who might be going out afterwards, it can't hurt to have a six pack of Red Bull on hand for a little pick-me-up. They'll thank you for it.

Sangria is a nice option for summer parties. Cook's Illustrated has a good recipe.

Reading through everyone's suggestions, I think you need to decide what your goal is in serving drinks: is it to get everyone hammered so quickly that they can't remember what happened at the party, or is it to serve something that makes them say, "Hey, remember that drink Ezra served at his party? That was really good! What was that?"

Assuming you're going for the latter, you might also want to get some Campari, which goes well with tonic or club soda and a big chunk of orange or lime.

Also, if you get some good beer (not what's in that picture...god how depressing is that?) and some Schweppes Bitter Lemon, you can make shandies (just mix 1/2 and 1/2), which are incredibly tasty and refreshing and low enough in alcohol that you can drink them pretty much non-stop on a hot day and not feel it.

My super-classy standby is The Operator: 1 part white wine, 1 part ginger ale, splash of lime juice.

Nice for summer and low-alcohol-density enough that your guests won't all be staggering out to their taxis.

Agree with the sangria recommendations. During the summer, I make a batch every Thursday night (sits overnight before drinking) for the weekend. Just make sure that when you pick the red wine, go with an inexpensive light to medium body wine. Also, if the recipe you use calls for sparkling water, don't add it until you're ready to serve. Finally, I found that a lot of sangria recipes use way too much citrus fruit -- add an apple (I prefer Fuji).

Not sure how easy this is in large quantities, but wouldn't gin and tonics also be cheap and easy? Cheap gin costs the same as cheap vodka and tonic water can be found cheap without breaking the bank. In a punch bowl the fizz would probably be lost, but you don't necessarily have to have things in a punch bowl. Can you really think of anything that fits a lot of tastes, anyone can make and is affordable?

I would also add one comment about hard liquor. Spending money on the good stuff is worth it. You wouldn't serve dinner with crappy ingredients would you? Unless you're just really on a budget and can't afford it, I think it's really worth it to spend a little money on your drinks. And in my experience, good alcohol leaves you with less of a hangover the next day.

Here's how to make a spiked watermelon, with a tap no less!

http://blog.evite.com/evite/2007/09/end-of-summer-b.html

Gin Bucket is the obvious solution. Since you likely didn't go to college with a ton of kids from Jersey, your ignorance is forgivable. Simple, cheap, and (all things considered), delicious:

1 Handle Gin
2-3 2 Liters Fresca (depending on tolerance)
3 Lemons, cut in half, squeezed, and put in "bucket"
3 Limes, same preparation as limes

Usually, this is served in a bucket, and frequently involves deploying basters as serving devices. A ladle of course works just as well, even if you can't squirt it directly down your throat.

Black velvet, the iron chancellor's favorite drink: champagne and stout. Best with just enough stout to make it black and opaque.

I don't know how easy it is to find in the States, but by far the most scalable mixed drink is Pimms.

1 part Pimms
2-3 parts lemonade (UK style - so 7Up or something like that I suppose) according to taste
Loads of mint, bits of cucumber, strawberries and orange slices

If you can't find Pimms, then mojitos are great and fairly easy.

The best party I ever hosted had a "Taste the Rainbow" theme. The nice thing was that the people attending the party were mostly not cocktail drinkers, and so this gave them an introduction to cocktails and how to make them. It sounds like a similar party might work well for your crowd.

The way the party worked was this: I came up with instructions and ingredients for six cocktails that followed the colors of the rainbow. (I don't remember them all now, but the red one was a crantini, the yellow a lemon drop, and the purple a grape Nehi.) All six used vodka as the main ingredient, with different additives for the flavoring and color. (Drinksmixer.com was my friend in selecting the drink recipes.)

Every twenty minutes or so, I drew two partygoers at random (well, mostly random) and had them come up and help me mix and pour the drinks. I had printed up the instructions beforehand, so they could simply follow along with me. The guests could have a shot of each color as we did it, or could skip colors if they wanted to.

I second astrodem's recommendation about quality liquors and would add that you don't need to go all the way to the most expensive brands to get better taste and nicer mornings after.

Avoid the Popov, but remember that you are buying to mix. There is no need to go with Grey Goose just to have people put lots of sugar and fruit in it!

Same thing with the bourbon -- there are good options (Bulleit or, if you can find it, Buffalo Trace) that won't break the bank or make you cringe when someone puts syrup in it.

First, you've got to re-jigger your concept of beer. You're not drinking beer if it's in cans, labeled 'lite', or shipped across state lines.
The diversity of actual beer rivals wine and is hard to beat, but you're not going to find it at the 7-11, or perhaps not even in DC.

It's summer. Fuck that blender shit, and get thee to a) gin and tonic; b) Pimms and lemonade; c) caipirinha; d) mojito. Campari and soda, Dubonnet and soda.

Pimms is easy to find in DC (less so in NC); getting good lemonade slightly less so. Sprite/7Up isn't an ideal replacement, so if you can't find British-style lemonade, ginger ale works at a pinch. One 70cl bottle Pimms; one 2L bottle of soda; cuke, strawbs, mint, orange. Stick it in a bucket, ladle it into glasses with ice (don't dilute the mix). Bung some gin in if you want the kick that Pimms used to have.

Cheap gin costs the same as cheap vodka

Cheap domestic gin is usually filth. Beefeater or Broker's (new, surprisingly good) runs about $13/70cl. That's your floor, really. More expensive gin is better for martinis, but a cheap imported brand is fine for G&Ts.

One caution on G&Ts -- they do not do well in large quantities. Tonic seems to lose its fizz about twice as fast as most carbonated drinks. And flat tonic tastes about twice as nasty. I learned this the hard way.

As for other good-in-mass-quantity drinks, my neighbors always do a Gatorade water cooler full of Cosmos for their holiday party. They turn out surprisingly good. Which is odd, because our mass-produced martinis never turn out quite right. So much of the refreshingness comes from them being shaken with ice before serving, and if you have to do that for each drink anyway, it's not much of a labor savings.

Pimm's is the best summertime party drink. pseudonymous in nc says ginger ale works in a pinch, but I actually prefer it that way.

You should get into Pimm's now before it becomes too trendy.

I once had sangria that was served from a kiddie pool on a table. The host gave us straws as we walked into the house. Not the most hygienic, but after an hour of trying to stab fruit with the straw, nobody cared. Best. Party. Ever.

Sangria is a great place to start. Lots of good recipes are available online. You can make it with white wine, too (lean more on citrus for the fruit). I like to make both red & white to give guests a choice.

If you want your guests to make their own and have options, make a whole bunch of simple syrup (sugar dissolved on the stove in an equivalent measure of water) and put it on the bar in a pourer-topped bottle along with the booze. If you're going this route, squeeze a whole bunch of limes ahead of time, too, because fresh lime juice is a crucial ingredient in lots of popular drinks.

You can also make a batch of simple syrup infused with mint. Just simmer the water & sugar mixture over low heat with a generous handful of mint leaves for 1/2 and hour or so, put the whole thing in the fridge overnight, then strain out the bedraggled mint leaves the next morning. You can mix this syrup with rum for easy mojitos, with Cachaca and lime for caiparinhas (no idea if I spelled those words right), or with Bourbon for mint juleps. It's nice to be able to make all those drinks without having to muddle the mint each time--you save time and energy, and are less likely to end up with broken glasses.

Gin & tonics are great, but: 1) use decent gin like Beefeater or Tanqueray, at least (cheap gin is much more noticeable than cheap vodka, IMO), 2) use good tonic water (Schweppes is about the best, unless you can get Fever Tree), 3) use lots of lime--squeeze at least 1/2 a lime into each drink, and toss the wedges in, too.

If you're making punch or sangria, try not to get carried away with the sugar. If you have simple syrup on hand, guests can easily sweeten their own glasses if they don't find it sweet enough.

You can also make a big pitcher of Bloody Mary mix ahead of time, then mix it with the vodka when you prepare each drink. Bloody Mary mix is fun to experiment with (try using wasabi instead of horseradish, Old Bay seasoning, different kinds of hot sauce, etc.), and it's an easy way to make your mark (for better or worse) by creating a distinctive recipe.

If you're into something with a more Polynesian flare try:

PANTY RIPPERS!

1 Cup Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
3 Cups Malibu Coconut Rum
1 to 1.5 Quarts Pineapple Juice

Mix this in a really large pitcher with lots of ice. Scale up at will, this can handle volume. It's sweet, but if you use pure pineapple juice there's a wonderful pucker to it too... and trust me, the name is well earned!

Caipiroska is a good alternative to the caipirinha. One, vodka is easier to find, and two, caipiroskas only knock you on your ass, not your back.

And they're very easy to make in bulk.

I preface this by saying- be open-minded. Any time I've thrown a party, the full on gourmet foodies as well as the canned beer guzzler set has gone coco puffs for this cocktail. I learned of it under the name of "Get Loose Juice." And it will get you loose, good times shall ensue. i guarantee.

4 ingredients.

12 lemons, juiced (you can get some bottled lemon juice if you want to cheat)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
A fifth of gin, chilled
4 bottles champagne, chilled

so good. soooo good.

I also just served a really fun pineapple cocktail this summer that has been a big hit.

Pineapple Juice. Chopped Basil. Gin. Club Soda. I chopped up some pineapple to put in the pitcher for a little extra pizzazz.

I mixed everything together except for the club soda so that it wdn't go flat. Left the club soda next to pitcher and ice bucket so that folks to top of their cocktail w/ the soda water themselves and it was nice a bubbly.

Gin tastes better than vodka w/ this drink. The gin just works better.

my suggestion for a solid affordable gin is Hendricks. And if you are going to go cheap, go Gordons. The best.

Mojito is a great choice as described above. An even easier one is a Kamikaze which is another great summertime drink that works well in a pitcher or punch bowl or bathtub. It's basically equal parts vodka, triple sec, and lime juice. Very strong, economical, and goes down like lemonade. And it'll leave your bathtub very clean. Oh how I love the power of citrus!

Cheers

For our Obama parties we always have lots of wheat grass shooters; and of course Zima.
fist bump!

I'm seeing some nightmarish Margarita recipes.

3-2-1 of Tequila, Lime Juice, and Triple Sec.

That's what the New York Bartender's Guide says, and you know what? They're so very right.

"You should get into Pimm's now before it becomes too trendy."

Heh. Pimms is pretty naff in the UK, but it still tastest great.

I say eschew the simple -- people choose the same old stuff because they're intimidated by alcohol and forget their favorite drinks from one day to the next. Pretty much like you.

You're a foodie, so surf around epicurious for inspiration. The ginger syrup idea is great. I had similar success with basil/lemon syrup mixed into vodka martinis. People who don't like the fancy option can have the backup of beer, wine, or a generic mixer like OJ or soda.

Great thread. But I think margaritas are 2 tequila, 1 triple sec, 1 lime juice (1 lime/drink if fresh squoze) and ~1/2 sugar or simple syrup. Reposado is wasted, but go a step up from Cuervo.

How about a Perro Salado? Tequila and grapefruit juice w/ a salted rim? (Salty Dog is vodka and grapefruit.)

Interesting, it was a whole 22 comments before someone suggested Kool-Aid and Everclear. I love reading about drinks but what I was really curious about was how long it would take this suggestion to come up. I don't know why.

Lots of bottles of mid-grade champagne. That's it. The driest you can find. Couple of buckets--these can be Rubbermaid wastebaskets or mop buckets if that's what you've got--with a slush of ice and water (just ice takes too long.)

Some of the above suggestions are appalling. Make a pitcher of 'Perfect' Manhattans.

Combine in a pitcher:

3 parts rye (Old Overholt is cheap)
1 part sweet vermouth
1 part dry vermouth
1 hull of a juiced half lemon(optional)
2-3 dashes of Angostura per total cup of liquid

Stir vigorously with lots of ice cubes and pour into glasses garnished with cherries. A wire whisk works well as a strainer for pitchers, just cover the mouth of the pitcher with the whisk when you pour.

If you are going to drink beer, drink it out of bottles. Cans reminds you too much of college. I thought you were moving up in the world and developing some sophistication.

Grog. Srsly.

Take a handle of rum, add a handle worth of water, one of those plastic squeeze-limes of lime juice, and two cups of brown sugar. Mix together over heat. (watch out for the alcohol vapors) It tastes like slightly citrusy apple cider, gets you drunk as fuck, and makes a great excuse to throw a pirate party.

I, too, think sangria works really well. The recipe I use is:
-2 parts red wine
-1 part orange juice
-sugar to taste (around 1/3 of a cup per 750 mL of wine)
Add quartered oranges and lemons; add ginger ale or sparkling water, if desired. To make it stronger, add brandy or triple sec. It's very scalable.

I tried to look at the Cook's Illustrated recipe that Lindsay recommended, but I'm not subscribed. I like cooking, and would be interested in learning new recipes--is it worth it to subscribe?

Let me add another vote for margaritas, with a few extra tips:

I agree with the above poster who said that the Cointreau can be minimized if you use good lime juice. I favor 4 tequila - 2 lime - 1 Cointreau. It'll also go down much smoother if you add a measure or two of "simple syrup", which is just 50/50 sugar/water boiled until the sugar dissolves.

An excellent mango margarita that dropped a few unsuspecting colleagues at my last birthday party:
- 3 parts tequila (*must* be reposado or anejo, not silver)
- 1 part lime juice
- 1 part cointreau
- 2 parts simple syrup
- 6 parts mango juice/nectar (the thicker the better, though sadly actual blended mangoes don't tend to work so well unless ultra-ripe)

If you want to make the frozen-blended kind, be prepared to use a LOT more ice per serving than you expect. Overdo the ice, and it'll be a mild but drinkable slushy; underdo it and you have an unappetizing liquid-with-bits-of-ice.

Us Brits drink an inordinate quantity of Pimms, it's ideal for parties as it can be served in jugs and doesn't require crused ice or blending. IMHO the ideal Pimms is roughly,
2 parts Pimms
1 part Gin
3-4 parts Ginger ale
Ice
some chopped strawberry
some copped cucumber
a sprig of mint
whatever other fruit you fancy.

Originally in the UK Pimms was made with ginger ale - lemonade was introduced when pubs started to have it (but not ginger ale) on draft and is a poor substitute.

Also reccommened, various collins' also in jugs -

2 parts gin or vodka
2 parts smashed up fruit (or one part elderflower.
1 part squeezed lime
3 parts soda water
simple syrup to taste - or substitute sprite for the soda and syrup if you're lazy.

Mojitos? I love them but you people are insane. I made them for half a dozen people at a barbecue once. I had to juice 40 limes.

Do you know what juicing 40 limes does to your wrists? And then you have to muddle the hell out of the limes and mint.

No. This is a terrible, terrible idea.

So look - no juicing. No muddling. These are bad ideas for parties unless it's a tiny cocktail party. And even then, you'll have to juice a lot of fruit for it.

I say stick to Manhattans, rusty nails (the Scotch version of a Manhattan), martinis, Harvey Wallbangers (That's a screwdriver with a float of Galliano). All of these can be mixed in a pitcher or vat or what have you beforehand so you can just shake and pour as needed.

Pimm's Cup is also a good idea, but you'll have to slice up a bunch of cucumber ahead of time. But that isn't so hard.

I'd also suggest a Sazerac, but you'll need to prep a lot of lemon twists and not everyone likes pastis. Even though they should.

Here's another idea: The Campari assortment.

-Campari and OJ for beginners
-Campari and soda for the hardcore (garnish with lime)
-The Americano for sophisticates (one part Campari, one part sweet vermouth, top with soda, garnish with an orange slice)

All are stirred and served in a rocks glass over ice.

Ceasars (for us Canucks).

Trash cans filled with grain punch, with lots of fruit!

(Oops, did I just date myself there?)

No, srsly, I agree with those who suggested that you just provide booze and mixers.

When I was your age (lo, those many years ago, before Clarendon was ritzy) we had many parties in our rickety old party house.

We provided booze + mixers, and for the larger parties usually got a pony keg.
Sadly, Dixie Liquor is no longer an option for you young whippersnappers.

In recent years I have bought a six or two of good beer, provided booze + mixers, and for my annual Derby Day party I make a tray of mint juleps (they are a PITA so I don't recommend these for general party uses). Someone usually brings more beer and a bottle of wine. So just think what you've got to look forward to...

best margarita's ever:

- juice from one lime per person

- 1-2 Tbs agave syrup (depends how sweet you like them.)

- 1 shot of orange liqueur (I prefer Gran Torres; it's half the price of Gran Marnier and Cointreau, and not as sweet.)

- 2 shots of silver tequila (it's a mixed drink, so something better than Cuervo Gold, but ya don't need Patron.)

Stir above in a shaker BEFORE ice to mix ingredients together. Then add lotsa ice and a splash of club soda or (MY preference) beer. Shake the bejeezuz out of it and serve a chilled glass filled with ice. Salt rim and lime wedge optional.

A timely bit of advice from Mr. Bittman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/dining/25mini.html

The easy choice for something reasonably classy that's easy to scale up is a kir royale.

1. Buy 6-10 bottles of reasonably cheap dry champagne and stick em in the fridge.

2. Buy one bottle of creme de cassis -- available at any halfway-decent liquor store.

3. Use approximately 1 part cassis to 4 parts champagne. Add the cassis to each glass first.

4. Go nuts.

Esquire's answer, easy Whiskey Sours:
• For every 750-ml bottle of whiskey (use a decent bourbon or rye), add:
• 6 oz fresh-squeezed, strained lemon juice
• 6 oz simple syrup (mix superfine sugar and water in equal quantities)

To serve: Shake 3 oz per person with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice or, if you're really slick, a float of red wine. (Pour about 1/2 oz slowly into each glass over the back of a spoon; this is called a New York sour, and it's great.)

Jeez!!

fill mug with ice

fill mug/ice with Vodka

drink

.

That picture is so beautiful.

There are some on the political right who might say "Ezra Klein, that liberal, hates America," but one glance at that photograph and anyone with sense can see that you're red, white and blue through and through.

Ezra, absolutely get and read Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's books on old-school Tiki drinks. For a warm-weather party, there's nothing better than fresh juices and rum, and back in the earlier part of the 20th century those combinations were raised to high art.

You'll end up with fifteen different kinds of rums, a sore wrist from squeezing citrus, and a cabinet full of weird syrups, but it will TOTALLY be worth it.

Start with "Sippin' Safari".