The one rule of batching
Keep anything carbonated out of the batch until you pour. Soda water, tonic and ginger ale go flat within an hour in an open pitcher. Mix the juices, syrups and citrus together, chill them well, and top each glass with cold soda at serving time. That one habit keeps the last glass of the night as lively as the first.
Batch tables
These tables are worked out from the same recipes drawn on the formulas page. Each still ingredient is scaled up and rounded to the nearest quarter cup. One cup is eight fluid ounces, and a quart is four cups. The sparkling row tells you how much to keep cold and add glass by glass.
| Ingredient | 1 glass | 12 glasses | 24 glasses | 48 glasses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mint syrup | 1/2 oz | 3/4 cup | 1 1/2 cups | 3 cups |
| Lime juice | 1/2 oz | 3/4 cup | 1 1/2 cups | 3 cups |
| Orange juice | 2 oz | 3 cups | 6 cups | 12 cups |
| Pitcher total | 3 oz | 4 1/2 cups | 9 cups | 18 cups |
| Soda water, added to each glass | 3 oz | 4 1/2 cups chilled | 9 cups chilled | 18 cups chilled |
| Ingredient | 1 glass | 12 glasses | 24 glasses | 48 glasses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemon juice | 1/4 oz | 1/2 cup | 3/4 cup | 1 1/2 cups |
| Orange juice | 1 1/2 oz | 2 1/4 cups | 4 1/2 cups | 9 cups |
| Cranberry juice | 2 oz | 3 cups | 6 cups | 12 cups |
| Pitcher total | 3 3/4 oz | 5 3/4 cups | 11 1/4 cups | 22 1/2 cups |
| Ginger ale, added to each glass | 2 oz | 3 cups chilled | 6 cups chilled | 12 cups chilled |
| Ingredient | 1 glass | 12 glasses | 24 glasses | 48 glasses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple syrup | 1/2 oz | 3/4 cup | 1 1/2 cups | 3 cups |
| Lime juice | 1/2 oz | 3/4 cup | 1 1/2 cups | 3 cups |
| Chilled hibiscus tea | 3 oz | 4 1/2 cups | 9 cups | 18 cups |
| Pitcher total | 4 oz | 6 cups | 12 cups | 24 cups |
| Soda water, added to each glass | 2 oz | 3 cups chilled | 6 cups chilled | 12 cups chilled |
A quarter-cup rounding error won't change the taste much, but always pour one test glass from the finished pitcher over ice and adjust before guests arrive.
How much to plan per guest
Many hosts plan around two drinks per guest in the first hour of a party and about one per hour after that. Plan a little more for hot days, dancing, or events where most guests are not drinking alcohol, and a little less for a short afternoon gathering. Offer water too, set apart from the mocktails so guests can grab it freely.
| Event | Length | Rough drinks per guest |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoon shower or open house | 2 hours | About 3 |
| Birthday dinner | 3 hours | About 4 |
| Backyard party in summer | 4 hours | About 5, plus water |
These figures are starting points from the same rule of thumb, not targets. Your guests know their own habits better than any rule does.
How far ahead to mix
- Make syrups one to three days ahead and refrigerate them. See the syrups guide for storage.
- Brew and chill any tea the day before.
- Squeeze fresh citrus and other juice on the day of the event, ideally within a few hours of serving.
- Mix the still batch an hour or two before guests arrive and keep it in the fridge.
- Stir the pitcher before each pour, since juice and syrup settle.
Serving a batch
A drink dispenser with a tap or a punch bowl with a ladle both work. Set the dispenser on a tray to catch drips, and keep it out of direct sun. If the batch has fresh juice in it, keep it cold. Food-safety agencies in the US generally advise not leaving perishable food and drink at room temperature for more than about two hours, or about one hour when it is above 90°F. A large bowl of ice under the pitcher, or a fresh pitcher from the fridge every hour, keeps you well within that. Read the food safety page for the details and current sources.
Don't add ice to the pitcher. Ice in the batch melts while it sits and waters every glass down. Put the ice in the glasses instead, and chill the pitcher from the outside.
Leftovers
A still batch that stayed cold the whole time can go back in the fridge, covered, and is best used the next day. Throw out anything that sat out at room temperature past the two-hour mark, anything that guests could have dipped into, and any pitcher that had ice melting in it all evening.